The 38-year-old president of National Conference (NC) party, Omar Abdullah became the youngest chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir after he took oath on Monday (January 5). Congress MLA Tara Chand took oath as the deputy chief minister of the state. Omar Abdullah's NC party has formed a coalition government with Congress after emerging as the single largest party in the J&K polls with 28 seats. The Congress bagged 17 seats.

 

Along with Omar and Tara Chand, four MLAs each from Congress and National Conference also took oath. As the CM of J&K, Omar Abdullah has to face many challenges, the foremost of which is to facilitate a dialogue with separatists. He is also loaded with the task of choosing a Cabinet. The son of former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah started his political career as an MP in the 12th Lok Sabha in 1998 and was re-elected a year later.

 

Under NDA government, the junior Abdullah served as Union Minister of State, Commerce and Industry. He was also appointed to the post of Union Minister of State of External Affairs. Omar Abdullah took the charge of National Conference party from his father in 2002.