Won’t allow Jammu to feel isolated: Omar on choosing Surender Choudhary as deputy
J&K CM says Choudhary, who defeated BJP’s Ravinder Raina from Nowshera, will lend voice to the people of Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who chose Surender Choudhary, the party MLA from Jammu’s Nowshera, as his deputy, has said that it was done to give a voice to people of the region and make his government inclusive.
"Our endeavour will be to take everyone along," Abdullah said after being sworn in on Wednesday (October 16).
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Besides Choudhary, four ministers – Sakina Masood (Itoo), Javed Dar, Javed Rana, and Satish Sharma – also took the oath of office.
There are three vacancies and "they will gradually be filled," Abdullah said.
People of Jammu should not feel left out: Omar
Abdullah said Choudhary, a former member of the PDP and the BJP – who emerged as a “giant killer” when he defeated BJP's Jammu and Kashmir’s president Ravinder Raina from Nowshera by 7,819 votes – was chosen as deputy chief minister so people of Jammu do not feel left out from the government.
"I had said that we will not allow Jammu to feel that they do not have a voice or representatives in this government. I have chosen a deputy chief minister from Jammu so that the people of Jammu feel that this government is as much theirs as it is of the rest," he said.
Who is Surender Choudhary?
Born in Jammu’s Marha, Choudhary did his schooling from Ghajansoo. He entered the electoral arena in 2014, but was defeated by Raina (then in PDP) in the Assembly polls from the Nowshera seat by a margin of over 10,000 votes.
Choudhary resigned from the PDP in 2022 to join the BJP before ending his over a year-long association with the party to join the NC in July last year.
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This is the first elected government since 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated from Jammu and Kashmir and the state was bifurcated into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
In the assembly elections held recently, the National Conference won 42 out of the 90 seats while alliance partner Congress bagged six. Together, the two pre-poll allies hold a majority in the 95-member assembly – five members are to be nominated by the Lieutenant Governor.