Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Omar Abdullah on being sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, and said the Centre will work closely with him and his team for J-K’s progress.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, the first elected government in the Union territory since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated.

In a post on X, Modi said, “Congratulations to Shri Omar Abdullah Ji on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Wishing him the very best in his efforts to serve the people.”

“The Centre will work closely with him and his team for J&K’s progress,” the prime minister said.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to Abdullah, who takes over as chief minister for a second term and is the third generation of the Abdullah family to occupy the office — after his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah and father Farooq Abdullah.

Five ministers — Sakina Masood (Itoo), Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Surinder Choudhary, and Satish Sharma — also took the oath of office.

While Itoo and Dar are from the Kashmir valley, Rana, Choudhary and Sharma are from the Jammu region.