Omar Abdullah takes oath along with Tara Chand as deputy

Jammu, Jan 5 (IANS) Omar Abdullah Monday took oath as the eighth chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir along with nine ministers including Tara Chand of the Congress as his deputy at this winter capital of the state.

Governor N.N. Vohra administered the oaths of office and secrecy to the 10-member council of ministers - five each from the National Conference (NC) and the Congress that have joined hands to form a coalition government.

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After Omar Abdullah of NC, Tara Chand was the first minister to take oath. He will be deputy chief minister.

With 28 seats, the NC emerged the largest party in the 87-member assembly after the seven-phase election in November-December. The Congress bagged 17 seats.

Omar Abdullah, the youngest chief minister in Jammu and Kashmir, is also the third to hold the post in his family after his grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and father Farooq Abdullah.

The 38-year-old Omar had been minister of state in the 1999-2004 National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.