KTR Congratulates Omar Abdullah on J&K Comeback Victory

Summary:

1. BRS’s KTR congratulated Omar Abdullah on his victory in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
2. Omar Abdullah’s National Conference won 42 of the 90 seats in the election.
3. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin called the victory a triumph for democracy.

National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah received a shoutout from BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) after his party won a majority in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. This was the first election since the abrogation of Article 370, where NC secured 42 of the 90 seats, while its alliance partner Congress won six seats.

KTR posted on his official X handle, “Congratulations @OmarAbdullah. What a terrific comeback. Like they say, your comeback was better than the setback. Best wishes in governing the most beautiful state of India (in anticipation that statehood will be restored soonest).”

The reference was to the 2014 Assembly elections where the National Conference was reduced to just 15 seats. This time, Omar Abdullah secured victories in both Ganderbal and Budgam constituencies. The win was a major comeback for the Valley’s oldest party and a personal victory for Abdullah, who had previously lost to Engineer Rashid in the Lok Sabha elections.

In response to KTR’s message, Abdullah wrote, “Thank you very much KTR Sb. Setbacks are only opportunities to learn & improve but in this case, the credit goes to the voters of J&K.”

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also congratulated Abdullah, calling the victory “stupendous” and praising the NC-Congress alliance for their win. Stalin tweeted, “This is more than just a win for #INDIA and democracy—it’s a mandate to fulfil the aspirations of restoring the dignity and statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Abdullah responded with gratitude and invited both KTR and Stalin to visit Jammu and Kashmir soon. Abdullah, who is expected to become the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, formed a pre-poll alliance with Congress. Along with the 48 seats secured by the alliance, four independent MLAs have also extended their support to the NC.

“We will go to the Raj Bhavan after receiving the letter from Congress to stake claim to form the government,” Abdullah said.

This was the first election held in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade, and the first since it was reorganised as a Union Territory.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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