Omar Abdullah: From Oberoi employee to the ‘next’ Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. What does the timeline say? peppermint

Omar Abdullah, once elected India’s youngest Chief Minister, is ready to take power once again. Abdullah’s party, Jammu Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), won the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections 2024, the union territory’s first elections after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

Omar Abdullah is a third-generation politician from the Abdullah family, one of the most prominent families of Jammu and Kashmir. Omar’s grandfather Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah had founded the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) in 1939.

peppermint Britain-born Omar Abdullah brings you the timeline of his journey from former ITC Global and Oberoi employee to becoming the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Political trajectory of Omar Abdullah

1998:Omar Abdullah began his political career at the age of 28, making him the youngest MP elected from the Lal Chowk constituency, one of the eight major seats in Jammu and Kashmir.

1999:Omar was re-elected to the Lok Sabha, and was appointed Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry under the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Following the fall of the Vajpayee government after only 13 months in power, Omar Abdullah again contested the elections from Srinagar as an NC candidate.

2001:Omar has been promoted to the role of Union Minister of State for External Affairs. About a year and a half later, Omar left Parliament to contest state elections.

2002: Omar Abdullah has become the first person in the family to lose the Ganderbal family stronghold by 2000 votes. It is considered an NC stronghold, with Farooq representing it in 1983, 1987 and 1996. People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rule begins after JKNC decides not to hold any stake.

2004: Abdullah, the youngest son, has been re-elected from Srinagar.

2008: Abdullah delivered an emotional speech during the confidence motion in Parliament on the India-US nuclear deal, saying, “I am a Muslim, I am an Indian and I don’t see any difference between the two.” In a column in Mint, Omar called it “the greatest speech of my political career”.

2008: Omar Abdullah won the Ganderbal seat and secured 28 seats for the NC, with Congress as its ally.

2009: Omar Abdullah has been sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir at the age of 38, making him one of the youngest people to hold the post in Indian history.

2014: Omar won from Beerwah assembly seat by a margin of more than 1000 votes, but NC lost the election. PDP-BJP alliance formed government

2019: After the abrogation of Article 370, both Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti were put under house arrest.

March 2020: Omar Abdullah has been released from custody after spending seven months in the government guest house Harinivas.

December 2020: The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a grouping of six parties including the NC, won the District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

September-October 2024: Omar Abdullah won the assembly elections from Ganderbal, Budgam, despite his earlier reluctance to contest the elections. The NC-Congress alliance won 49 seats. Farooq Abdullah announced to make his son the CM for the second time.