Omar Abdullah elected NCLP leader

Srinagar: Omar Abdullah was on Thursday unanimously elected as the leader of the National Conference Legislature Party, party president Farooq Abdullah said here on Thursday.

"A meeting of the legislature party was held where everyone unanimously chose Omar Abdullah as its leader," the senior Abdullah said.

He said a meeting of the pre-poll alliance partners would be held on Friday to take the process of government formation further.

Omar Abdullah thanked the National Conference legislators on Thursday for electing him their leader. “You are aware of the decision that was taken. A meeting of the NC legislature party took place, the legislature party has decided its leader, and I am thankful from the bottom of my heart to the NC legislators that they have reposed their faith in me and given me a chance to stake claim for government formation,” Omar Abdullah told reporters after he was elected the leader of the legislature party here.

Earlier, all the newly elected MLAs of the National Conference (NC) met at party headquarters Nawa-i-Subah to elect their leader, who is most likely to be the chief minister as well, in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly. The meeting was convened by party president and Mr. Omar's father Farooq Abdullah.

Meanwhile, the NC, the single-largest party in the elections with 42 seats in the 90-member Assembly, received a further boost with four of the seven candidates who won as Independents, extending support to the party, on Thursday.