In Jammu and Kashmir, an elected Chief Minister hoisted the national flag at an Independence Day ceremony after a gap of eight years. CM Omar Abdullah unfurled the Tricolor at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar on Friday, becoming the first elected Chief Minister to preside over the Independence Day celebrations in the region. The last time a Chief Minister oversaw the event was in 2017 when PDP President Mehbooba Mufti held the position. The coalition government collapsed in 2018 after the BJP withdrew support from the PDP, leading to Governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir.
During the ceremony, Abdullah was honored with a guard of honor before inspecting the participating contingents. He then took the salute as various contingents from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Armed Paramilitary Forces, and school children marched past. Abdullah’s cabinet colleagues presided over Independence Day celebrations in other key district headquarters of the state. A cultural program, one of the main highlights of the Independence Day celebrations, was canceled this year to honor those who died in the floods in Kishtwar.
Following the fall of Mehbooba Mufti’s government, President’s rule was imposed in the state. The national flag was hoisted by the Governor in the Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations in 2018 and 2019, while the Lieutenant Governor hoisted the flag in these ceremonies from 2020 to 2024. Notably, there was no elected government in place when Article 370 was revoked in August 2019, and Jammu and Kashmir was converted into two union territories. The administration of the state was then run through the central government or the Governor. After the removal of Article 370, assembly elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir at the end of last year, and Omar Abdullah became the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
