In October 2024, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference party (JKNC) won 42 seats in the territory’s 90-member legislative assembly, and Abdullah returned to office as chief minister—a role he held from 2009 to 2015. Five years had passed since the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), abrogated Article 370 of its constitution, revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s limited autonomy and transforming it from a locally administered state into a union territory directly governed by the central government.
On the campaign trail in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir last year, ahead of the union territory’s first legislative election in a decade, Omar Abdullah made a crowd of supporters emotional as he removed his skullcap . “My turban, my honor, and this cap are in your hands,” he said. “Give me an opportunity and I will serve you and represent you.”
On the campaign trail in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir last year, ahead of the union territory’s first legislative election in a decade, Omar Abdullah made a crowd of supporters emotional as he removed his skullcap. “My turban, my honor, and this cap are in your hands,” he said. “Give me an opportunity and I will serve you and represent you.”
In October 2024, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference party (JKNC) won 42 seats in the territory’s 90-member legislative assembly,
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