New Delhi:

The Aam Aadmi Party has asked the National Conference-Congress alliance for a cabinet birth for its lone MLA from Doda in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir government, set to be led by Omar Abdullah.

Mehraj Malik defeated BJP’s Ganjay Singh Rana by more than 4,538 votes in the assembly election held in the Union Territory earlier in the month.

“We have appealed to the alliance partners to ensure our MLA is given a space in the government that is soon to be formed,” AAP leader Sanjay Singh said in a press conference on Monday.

The request comes after AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who visited Doda on Sunday, expressed gratitude to the people for electing Mr Malik as AAP’s first MLA in Jammu and Kashmir.

“AAP is formally supporting the Omar-led government, and I hope Mehraj Malik will be entrusted with the responsibility to not only serve Doda but the entire state of J&K,” the former Delhi chief minister said during his visit.

Mr Malik scored a victory also defeating former ministers Khalid Najib Suharwardy of the National Conference and Abdul Majid Wani of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party.

The NC-Congress alliance, which won a combined 48 seats out of the total 90 in the recent J&K elections, is set to form the new government, with Omar Abdullah already elected as the alliance’s leader and future chief minister. The NC secured 42 seats, while Congress won six.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir:

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah is set to take oath as the new chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on October 16.

Sharing the letter on X, sent by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Omar Abdullah said, “Was pleased to receive the Principal Secretary to LG Manoj Sinha ji. He handed over a letter from the @OfficeOfLGJandK inviting me to form the next government in J-K.”

Earlier, the president’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir was revoked, clearing the way for the formation of a new government following the recently concluded Assembly polls in the Union Territory.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette notification in this regard on Sunday.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 73 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019) read with articles 239 and 239A of the Constitution of India, the Order dated the 31st October 2019 in relation to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall stand revoked immediately before the appointment of the Chief Minister under section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019,” read the official order.

This will be the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the former state into two Union Territories.

The 90 seats in the region were contested in a three-phase election, with the results announced on October 8. NC-Congress alliance secured 48 seats, with the NC leading the alliance to victory, as the Congress won only six seats.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

BJP’s 29-year-old Shagun Parihar is the youngest member of the newly elected Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, while National Conference veteran Abdul Rahim Rather aged 80 is the oldest member.

Shagun Parihar, who lost her father and uncle in a terror attack in 2018, is the only member of assembly below the age of 30 while Mr Rather, the seven-time MLA from Chara-e-Sharief, is the only octogenarian in the house, data compiled by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) reveals.

According to the ADR data, the average age of an MLA in Jammu and Kashmir is 55.71 years, which is reflected in the number of legislators with 32 falling in the age group of 51 to 60 years.

Among the 10 youngest newly-elected MLAs are PDP’s Waheed Para (Pulwama), Aam Admi Party’s Mehraj Malik (Doda), NC’s Mehar Ali (Kangan), independent Rameshwar Singh (Bani) and BJP’s Sunil Bharadwaj (Ramnagar).

Congress MLA from Bandipora Nizamuddin Bhat at 77 is the second oldest member followed by CPI(M)’s Kulgam MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami who is 75 years old.

National Conference’s (NC) Eidgah MLA Mubarak Gul aged 73, while Beerwah MLA Mohammad Shafi Wani (NC), Pattan MLA Javaid Riyaz (NC) and Anantnag MLA P M Sayeed (Congress) are all 71.

The other elected septuagenarians include NC’s Hasnain Masoodi (Pampore), BJP’s Surjit Slathia (Samba) and his party colleague Baldev Raj (Shri Mata Vaishno Devi).

According to ADR, 23 MLAs are between the ages of 41 and 50 years, while 22 members are in the age group of 61 to 70 years. There are six MLAs who are aged below 40, including Shagun Parihar, the first time legislator from Kishtwar seat in Jammu region.

The polls right body also found that there has been no change in the composition of the assembly in terms of gender ratio.

There were three women MLAs in the last assembly which was dissolved in the 2018 elections and the number has remained unchanged this year too.

In 2014, NC’s Shamima Firdous and PDP’s Asiea Naqash were the only two women to get elected but PDP president Mehbooba Mufti joined them in the House after getting elected in the 2016 bypoll held after the death of her father and then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Shamima Firdous has retained her Habbakadal seat while Sakina Masood managed to regain the D H Pora seat which she had lost in 2014 elections.

Debutant Shagun Parihar from Kishtwar has joined them this year.

In the poll results declared by the Election Commission on Tuesday, the alliance of the NC and Congress, who are constituents of the opposition grouping INDIA bloc, won 48 of the 90 seats at stake. The BJP with 29 seats emerged as the second largest party improving its all-time high tally of 25 in 2014 elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)