Omar Abdullah stakes claim to form government

With 54 members pledging their support, the National Conference vice-president met J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha

With 54 members pledging their support, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Friday (October 11, 2024) met J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhawan to stake claim to form the government.

“I met LG Manoj Sinha and handed over the letters of support that I have received from the Congress, CPM, AAP and independents,” Mr. Abdullah said.

Earlier in the day, the Congress formally extended its support to the National Conference (NC) to form the new government, first since the Centre scrapped J&K special status in 2019.

The Congress Legislature Party meeting was attended by all six legislators, including J&K Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra. The legislators passed a resolution and signed letters of support to the NC. 

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“The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting unanimously passed a resolution and authorised the party’s central leadership to choose our CLP leader. We have extended our support to the National Conference and we will hand over the letter of support to them. We accept Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister,” Mr. Karra said.

Ruling out any differences on portfolios, Mr. Karra said the alliance partners will sit and decide on distribution of portfolios after the government formation. 

“There are no demands as such. For the spirit of the INDIA bloc, we are supporting the NC for the people of J&K. It’s for a noble cause. We will sit with them formally and at that time we will discuss what the model of governance will be like. The spirit of this alliance is far beyond the game of numbers and ministerial posts. It’s a pan-India spirit,” Mr. Karra said.

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The NC is likely to approach the Raj Bhawan on Saturday to stake claim for government formation in J&K.

Meanwhile, the NC has swelled its kitty from 42 seats to 47, with one more elected legislator extending the support. The INDIA bloc numbers in J&K have risen to a strong 54 members in the 90-member J&K Assembly.  

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), headed by Arvind Kejriwal, also submitted a formal letter of support to the NC before the Lieutenant Governor’s office. AAP candidate Mehraj Malik defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Gajay Singh Rana from the Doda seat in the Jammu region. “The AAP will extend support to the NC government in J&K,” an AAP spokesman said.

With numbers on their side, the NC is mulling to send NC president Dr. Farooq Abdullah to Rajya Sabha once elections are held for the same. The J&K Assembly can elect four Rajya Sabha members from the Union Territory (UT). Sources said Dr. Abdullah’s name was discussed during the recent Legislature Party meeting in Srinagar and his candidature was approved for a Rajya Sabha seat.

National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah said the party will approach the Lieutenant Governor tomorrow and ask for the date of forming the government

“We have to end hatred. False propaganda was spread in Jammu that stone pelting, terrorism would start again. We have to eliminate that propaganda from their hearts. We want to live peacefully. We want the Center to restore statehood here so that the government can work here. Jammu and Kashmir is the crown of the country, if the crown does not shine then how will the country shine,” Dr. Abdullah said.

Published - October 11, 2024 05:43 pm IST