Congress To Sit Out Of Omar Abdullah Government: Sources

The National Conference dominated the September-October J&K election, winning 42 of 90 seats, while the Congress - expected to do well - flopped, winning only six.

The Congress will not be part of the new Jammu and Kashmir government - despite having allied with Chief Minister-elect Omar Abdullah's National Conference to win last month's election - sources told NDTV Tuesday morning. The party - which sources said had declined the offer of one ministerial berth in the incoming government - will offer support from the outside instead.

However, two senior leaders - Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and the party's General Secretary, Priyanka Vadra Gandhi - will attend the swearing-in ceremony, which will also see eight ministers (the maximum allowed) take oath alongside Mr Abdullah.

Mr Abdullah will be sworn in as the new Chief Minister - J&K's first elected head of state in a decade - this morning, after guiding the NC to victory in the September-October election.