Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference announced, “Omar Abdullah will be the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir,” following a strong performance in the recent polls. The Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance has surpassed the halfway mark in the first elections in a decade, securing a total of 45 seats and leading in three others, while the BJP has won over 25 seats so far.
Dr Farooq said that he was glad over what seems to be a clean sweep by the NC in Kashmir Valley and parts of Jammu. “The verdict is a clear message that people of J&K have not accepted the August 5, 2019 unilateral decision imposed on them by the Centre,” NC chief said.
When Asked who would be the Chief Minister of J&K, Senior Abdullah said his son Omar Abdullah will be head of the 90-member Assembly. “Omar Abdullah will be the CM of J&K,” he said.
Vote counting began at 8 AM, with extensive security measures in place. The assembly elections for the 90 constituencies were conducted in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, marking the first such elections since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, which split the former state into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Voter turnout for the three-phase elections was reported at 63.88%, according to the Election Commission of India.
