It has been a rather bumpy ride for Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah who, on October 16, completed his government’s first-year run in the Union territory within a complex power model that has the lieutenant governor at the helm of key affairs and officials.
Omar may well be breathing the realisation that the chief ministerial crown is indeed one of thorns, as was defined by his father and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah at the very outset.
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J&K witnessed its six-year-long political stalemate end in 2024 after central rule ended with the Omar government assuming office. This made Omar the first chief minister of J&K as a Union territory, downgraded as it was from a state and rid of its special status in August 2019.
In his year-long stint, Omar has found himself sandwiched between the Union territory’s power constraints and growing public pressure. Analysts would say that his worst fears of running into a clash with the lieutenant governor in the ‘dual power’ structure are not entirely unfounded.
“I want to say it clearly.
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