Omar set to reclaim CM chair

Srinagar, Oct 10: National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah was unanimously elected as the leader of the NC legislature party during a meeting held at the party’s Nawa-e-Subah headquarters here Thursday.

The development positions Omar as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir after his party emerged as the single-largest in the recently concluded assembly polls.

Omar is now poised to return as the CM, a role he held from 2009 to 2014.

“A meeting of the legislature party was held where everyone unanimously chose Omar Abdullah as its leader,” NC President Farooq Abdullah told reporters after the NC legislature party meeting here. “The discussions with the pre-poll alliance partners – Congress and CPI (M) - will be held on Friday to finalise the government formation process.”

Farooq said that their priority is to solve all issues faced by the people here.

“We hope we are treated well by the central government and we restore statehood,” he said. “The restoration of Article 370 will take time but our first job will be restoration of statehood.”

Farooq said the party would talk to Congress and decide when to take the oath.

The NC secured 42 seats out of the total 90 seats that went to polls while its allies Congress won six and CPI (M) one seat, giving the alliance a comfortable majority.

Additionally, four independent MLAs also extended their support to the NC, increasing the coalition’s tally to 53 seats.

Talking to reporters, Omar Abdullah said the party was awaiting a formal letter of support from Congress before officially staking its claim with the Lieutenant Governor.

“I am grateful to the NC legislators for placing their faith in me. We now have a majority with the support of four Independent MLAs, and we are in talks with Congress to finalise the letter of support,” Omar said.

About his next steps, he said that once Congress completes its internal processes, he would approach the Lieutenant Governor to form the government.

“We expect Congress to provide the letter of support soon. After that, we will move forward with the formalities,” he said.

Omar reiterated that the new government would pass a resolution and engage with the central government for the restoration of statehood.

“The government should work in harmony with the Lieutenant Governor for the welfare of the people. We aim for peaceful cooperation, not confrontation to regain our rightful status as a state,” he said.

Omar declined to comment on potential portfolio allocations or whether a Congress leader might assume the Deputy Chief Minister’s position.

“This government will represent everyone – those who voted for the Congress, the NC, the BJP, and even those who chose not to vote. In Srinagar, where only 20 percent voted, the remaining 80 percent deserve governance too, just as much as those in Jammu who supported the BJP,” he said.