The Congress will not be part of the new Jammu and Kashmir government – despite having allied with Chief Minister-elect Omar Abdullah’s National Conference to win last month’s election – sources told NDTV Tuesday morning. The Congress will offer support from outside instead.
However, senior leaders from the party – Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha – will attend the swearing in ceremony.
Mr Abdullah will be sworn in as the new Chief Minister – J&K’s first elected head of state in a decade – this morning, after guiding the NC to victory in the September-October election.
The Congress – expected to do well – flopped, winning only six seats; it won 12 in the 2014 election. The NC dominated the alliance, winning 42 of the former state’s 90 elected seats.
