PM Modi, Defence Minister greet J&K CM Omar on 54th birthday

Jammu, March 10 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday sent birthday greetings to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah.

Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi wished CM Omar a healthy and long life.

The PM posted on X, “Birthday wishes to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Ji. Praying for his long and healthy life.”

Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh also wished CM Omar on his 54th birthday.

“Warm birthday greetings to Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri @OmarAbdullah. May he lead a long and healthy life”, the Defence Minister posted on X.

CM Omar was born to Dr Farooq Abdullah and his British mother, Mollie Abdullah on March 10, 1970 in Rockford, Essex in England.

He did his initial schooling in Burn Hall School in Srinagar city run by missionaries.

Omar received a business-related bachelor’s degree from a college affiliated with the University of Mumbai and did some graduate coursework in business administration at a university in Scotland.

In 1998, at the age of 28, he was elected to the Lok Sabha as a member of the National Conference. He was re-elected one year later and became a minister in the Commerce and Industry Ministry in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

In 2001 he was named minister for external affairs in the NDA government, the youngest to hold that portfolio. His tenure lasted only 17 months as he resigned from the post in December 2002 to concentrate on the NC’s preparations for the state Assembly elections.

In June 2002 Omar had become president of the NC, replacing his father, and he remained in that office until 2009.

His political career at the state level started badly. In the 2002 elections, the ruling NC lost more than half of the 57 Assembly seats it had garnered in 1996.

Omar contested and lost his seat to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Qazi Mohammad Afzal in Ganderbal constituency and the PDP in alliance with the Congress and smaller parties formed a coalition government.

In 2004 Omar was re-elected to the Lok Sabha. In the 2008 state Assembly elections, Omar won his constituency and the NC with 28 seats and the support of the Congress, formed the new government in 2009.

At the age of 38, Omar became the youngest Chief Minister of J&K. He resigned from the presidency of NC and was replaced by his father.

In 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Omar was defeated from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency by the incarcerated politician, Engineer Rashid.

Not giving up, Omar bounced back with a double victory from Ganderbal and Budgam Assembly constituencies in the legislative Assembly elections last year.

He was sworn in as the CM of J&K for the second time on October 16, 2024, but by then the state had been bifurcated into the two UTs of Ladakh and J&K.

As the CM of the UT, Omar has been relentlessly fighting for restoration of statehood to J&K.

–IANS

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