Omar Abdullah likely to take oath on Wednesday as he stakes claim to form J&K govt; Congress support comes with ‘no demands, for now’

“I have requested the L-G to set a date for oath-taking as soon as possible, so that the elected government can take over,” Omar said Friday after meeting the L-G at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar.

Expressing hope that the formalities will be completed by next week, he said, “I think by Wednesday, we could hold the oath ceremony.”

He pointed out that the process could take longer than usual since “this isn’t a case where one elected government is handing over to another”.

Omar has served as chief minister of the erstwhile state of J&K from 2009 to 2015.

J&K is presently a Union Territory under the Centre’s rule. This means that ahead of the new government’s oath-taking, the L-G will have to complete the paperwork and send it to Rashtrapati Bhawan, from where it will be sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. This is expected to take two-three days.

Earlier on Friday, the Congress legislative party (CLP) met in Srinagar and handed over its letter of support to the NC vice-president.

After the CLP meeting, Pradesh Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra said it was decided that the decision on the CLP leader would be left up to the party’s central leadership in Delhi.

Flanked by former PCC chief G A Mir, Karra said the Congress has extended support to the NC, keeping the “spirit of INDIA alliance” in mind and for the betterment of the people.

“At the moment, we have not put up any demands. What shape the model of governance takes, will be decided in further discussions with the NC,” he said.

The Congress contested the J&K polls as part of a pre-poll alliance with NC and secured six seats.

The ruling coalition will have 55 members in the 90-member House. Five members will also be nominated to the House by the Lieutenant Governor.

Meanwhile, one more Independent candidate from Jammu, Muzaffar Iqbal Khan (Thandamandi seat) extended his support to the NC. On Thursday, four MLAs – all from Jammu province – had extended support to the NC. They were Pyare Lal Sharma from Inderwal, Satish Sharma from Chhamb, Chaudhary Mohammed Akram from Surankote, and Rameshwar Singh from Bani.

On questions regarding the Congress’s numbers in the alliance, Karra said the “spirit of the alliance is pan India and the alliance is not confined to J&K, but has utility across the country. This is not a number game or for ministerial berths.”