Jammu, 15 October (H.S.):

Stage

is set for Omar Abdullah to take oath as the first chief minister of the Union

Territory of Jammu and

Kashmir following the victory of his National Conference in the maiden assembly

election after the abrogation of Article 370.

Preparations have been put in place for the oath ceremony of the chief minister

and his council of ministers at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention

Centre (SKICC) on Wednesday, officials said.

The

chief minister and his ministers will be administered the Oath of Office and

Secrecy by J-K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at 11:30 am.

Security

has been tightened around the venue of the swearing-in ceremony, the officials

said.

“The

security has been beefed up especially as a lot of VVIPs will be attending the

event. We will ensure the smooth conduct of the event,” the officials

added.

Invitations

to attend the oath ceremony have been sent to the constituents of the INDIA

bloc.

National

Conference (NC) Kashmir provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said it was not

clear yet who all will be attending the ceremony.

“We

will get to know about the VVIP attendees later this evening after receiving

their confirmation,” Wani said.

Sinha

on Monday invited the NC vice president to take oath as the J&K chief

minister.

The

invitation came a day after the Centre revoked President’s rule in the Union

Territory.

In

a letter to Abdullah, Sinha said, “I have received a letter of 11th October,

2024 from Dr. Farooq Abdullah, President, Jammu and Kashmir National

Conference, wherein it has been informed that you have been unanimously elected

as Leader of the Legislature Party.”

He

said he has also received a letter from Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq

Hameed Karra, CPI(M) secretary G N Malik, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national

secretary Pankaj Kumar Gupta and Independent MLAs-elect Payare Lal Sharma,

Satish Sharma, Mohammad Akram, Rameshwar Singh and Muzafar Iqbal Khan extending

their support to the NC.

“I

am pleased to invite you to form and lead the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.

As separately settled, I shall administer Oath of Office and Secrecy to you,

and to those recommended by you for induction as members of your Council of

Ministers, at SKICC, Srinagar on 16th October, 2024 at 11:30 a.M,” Sinha said

in his letter.

The

LG’s emissary had handed over the letter to Abdullah and informed him about the

date and time of the swearing-in ceremony.

Abdullah

was unanimously elected the leader of the NC Legislature Party on Thursday,

setting the stage for his second term as chief minister. His first term, from

2009 to 2014 when Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state, was also under an

NC-Congress coalition Government.

The

NC won 42 out of the 90 seats which went to poll in the recent elections, while

the Congress won six. Together, the two pre-poll allies hold a majority in the

95-member assembly five members are to be nominated by the LG.

Their

strength is further bolstered by the support from five Independent MLAs-elect

and a lone AAP MLA-elect.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar