Omar Abdullah took oath as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Despite fighting the elections together, the Congress has not joined the Omar Abdullah government. Reason: Omar Abdullah agreed to only one ministerial berth for the Congress, which won six seats. But Congress rejected the offer and decided to back the Abdullah government from outside.
Omar Abdullah's Cabinet includes 5 others — Sakina Masood Itoo, Surinder Choudhary, Javed Rana, Javed Ahmed Dar, and Satish Sharma. They were all sworn in on Wednesday at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. On Thursday, they were allotted their portfolios.
The new administration reflects representation from all three regions of Kashmir — Southern, Central, and Northern — with Omar Abdullah serving as chief minister from Ganderbal and two additional ministers from the region. The Jammu division is represented by three ministers.
The only woman minister in the Abdullah Cabinet, Sakina Masood Itoo is a prominent face in the National Conference. Sakina Itoo emerged victorious from the Damhal Hanji Pora or DH Pora constituency in Kulgam district, South Kashmir. She garnered 36,623 votes, defeating Gulzar Ahmed Dar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by a margin of 17,449 votes.
Sakina Masood Itoo has been handed the Health and Medical Education, School Education, Higher Education, and Social welfare portfolios. Itoo earlier served as social welfare and education minister.
She became the youngest member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly when she first won a seat at age 26 in 1996. Her father, former Assembly Speaker Wali Mohammad Itoo, was shot dead in 1994 by terrorists. His brother was assassinated in 2001. Sakina, too, has been a target of militants for a long time.
Thank you to every voter who placed their trust in me – this victory is yours! Grateful for your support and belief in our vision. Congratulations to my incredible colleagues at @JKNC_ , and to those who didn’t make it this time, your dedication and hard work made us all stronger pic.twitter.com/VpCOwGE7Ir
— Sakina Itoo (@sakinaitoo) October 8, 2024
Surinder Choudhary, a former MLC, won the Nowshera seat in Jammu against the BJP's state president Ravinder Raina by a margin of over 7,000 votes. Initially associated with the PDP, he switched to the BJP in March 2022, but later joined the National Conference in July 2023.
He has been handed the portfolios of Public Works, Industries and Commerce, Mining, Labour & Employment, and Skill Development in the Omar Abdullah government.
Representing Mendhar, a constituency reserved for members of the Scheduled Tribes community, Javed Ahmed Rana has had prior experience as both an MLA and MLC before Jammu and Kashmir became a Union Territory. In the recently concluded polls, he secured 32,176 votes — almost 14,000 more than his nearest rival from the BJP. Rana hails from Kalaban village in Poonch and holds degrees in both arts and law from the University of Jammu.
Javed Rana will look after the Forest, Ecology & Environment, Jal Shakti, and Tribal Affairs departments.
Congress rebel Satish Sharma, the lone independent candidate in the Omar Abdullah Cabinet, is from the Chammb constituency in Jammu. He earned a place in the J&K assembly after defeating BJP leader Rajeev Sharma by a margin of nearly 7,000 votes.
He has been allotted the Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Transport, Science & Technology, Information Technology, Youth Services & Sports, and ARI & Trainings departments.
Prior to this election, he had supported the National Conference-Congress alliance but ran independently after being denied a ticket by Congress. He is the son of former Lok Sabha MP Madan Lal Sharma.
A seasoned member of the National Conference, Dar previously served as a minister under Omar Abdullah during their coalition government. He was elected from Rafiabad in North Kashmir with 28,783 votes against Yawar Ahmad Mir from the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, who received 19,581 votes.
Dar has got the Agriculture Production, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Cooperative, and Election portfolios.
