Omar Abdullah elected NC legislature leader

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah (left), Vice President Omar Abdullah (second from left) and others during the party’s Legislature Party Meeting in Srinagar on Thursday. Pic/PTI

Omar Abdullah was on Thursday unanimously elected as the leader of the National Conference legislature party, party president Farooq Abdullah said here. "A meeting of the legislature party was held where everyone unanimously chose Omar Abdullah as its leader," the senior Abdullah said.

He said a meeting of the pre-poll alliance partners would be held on Friday to take the process of government formation further. Earlier, all the newly elected MLAs of the National Conference (NC) met at party headquarters Nawa-i-Subah to elect their leader, who is most likely to be the chief minister as well, in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.

The NC has emerged as the single largest party in the assembly polls with 42 seats and has a comfortable majority in the 95-member House as its alliance partners Congress and CPI(M) have won six seats and one seat respectively.

The meeting was convened by party president and Omar's father Farooq Abdullah. Omar Abdullah thanked the National Conference (NC) legislators on Thursday for electing him their leader so that he can stake claim to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir.

"You are aware of the decision that was taken. A meeting of the NC legislature party took place, the legislature party has decided its leader and I am thankful from the bottom of my heart to the NC legislators that they have reposed their faith in me and given me a chance to stake claim for government formation," Abdullah told reporters after he was elected the leader of the legislature party here.

Omar claims NC now has 46 MLAs

Omar Abdullah said four of the seven Independent MLAs have extended support to the NC, taking the party's strength to 46. "Talks are on with the Congress. They have been given a day to decide. Once they give us a letter of support, I will stake claim for government formation," Abdullah said. The NC has emerged as the single-largest party in the just-concluded Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls with 42 seats.

‘SP-Congress alliance strong'

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party's alliance with the Congress will continue, a day after his party declared tickets for six of the 10 UP Assembly seats where bypolls are due later this year. Yadav's statement came while he was speaking to reporters during his visit to Etawah to pay tributes to his father and Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav on his death anniversary.

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