Newly elected members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly were sworn in on Monday by pro-tem speaker Mubarak Gul.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took the oath in Kashmiri, marking a significant moment in the proceedings.
Omar Abdullah, 54, was the first to take the oath. Known as a third-generation politician from the Abdullah family, he has faced criticism in the past for his limited proficiency in Kashmiri.
Though fluent in English, his early career in the late 1990s highlighted his struggles with Hindi, Urdu, and Kashmiri. During his first term as Chief Minister (2009-2014), Abdullah took language lessons to improve his skills in these vernaculars, leading up to his choice to take the oath in Kashmiri this time.
During the assembly oath, Speaker of JK Assembly said that Omar Abdullah has retained the Ganderbal assembly seat and has submitted his resignation from the Budgam assembly segment.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary took his oath in English.
The ceremony officially ended a six-year legislative gap in the region. Among the new legislators, 51 are first-time members, including the BJP’s Shagun Parihar from Kishtwar, the youngest at 29.
Abdul Rahim Rather, a veteran from the National Conference (NC) representing Chrar-e-Sharief, is the oldest at 80.
Both he and fellow NC member Ali Mohammad Sagar (Khanyar) have achieved a record of seven terms in the assembly. Sagar has served since 1983, while Rather began his political journey in 1977 but faced defeat in the 2014 elections.
The recent polls saw the National Conference emerge as the largest party, forming the government with support from the Congress, which secured six seats.
Five independents, an MLA from the AAP, and the CPI(M) also extended their support. The BJP, with 29 seats, marked its best performance in the region to date.