The Union government is likely to initiate the process of restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, five years after the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured Chief Minister Omar Abdullah the centre’s full support to the newly elected government, a report in NDTV said quoting sources. Omar met Shah in Delhi on Wednesday.

“The meeting that lasted half an hour was held in a very cordial atmosphere. The home minister assured the centre’s full support to the newly elected government and to initiate the process of restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir,” the NDTV report quoted a source as saying.

Abdullah-led J&K cabinet passed a resolution demanding the restoration of statehood in its first cabinet meeting held last week.

Abdullah to meet PM Modi

Abdullah is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and submit a copy of the resolution to him as well. The resolution also emphasises on the J&K government’s commitment to protect the identity and constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The home minister assured the centre’s full support to the newly elected government.

Following the scrapping of Article 370 in August 2019, Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to a UT.

Elections for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly were held in three phases, from September 18 to October 1, resulting in the formation of a government by the National Conference-Congress alliance.

Before taking the oath, Omar Abdullah had said that the first task of his government would be to become the voice of the people. Earlier, Congress leader P Chidambaram had also expressed that ‘first task of the new government should be to demand the restoration of statehood to J-K’, and all the INDIA parties should support it.

LISTEN | Amit Baruah in conversation with Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami

The CPI (M) leader says this election was the only option for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to express themselves. 
| Video Credit:
Interview by Amit Baruah; Editing by Samson Ronald K.; Produced by: Jinoy Jose P.

In a conversation with senior journalist Amit Baruah, Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, a veteran CPI(M) leader and MLA from Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam, offers a candid and nuanced perspective on the region’s recent Assembly election—the first since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Speaking after securing his fifth term as an MLA, Tarigami paints a complex picture of a populace eager for democratic expression yet constrained by years of political turmoil and centralised control.

He describes the elections as a watershed moment, where citizens across all demographics seized a rare opportunity to voice their concerns through the ballot, breaking a long spell of enforced silence. However, Tarigami’s optimism is tempered with caution as he outlines the challenges ahead: a polarised political landscape, diminished local autonomy, and the delicate balancing act required in dealing with the Central government.

Amit Baruah is a senior journalist.

LISTEN | Amit Baruah in conversation with Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq says this election was a vote against the BJP and the policies of Narendra Modi’s government. 
| Video Credit:
 Interview by Amit Baruah; Editing by Samson Ronald K.; Supervising producer: Jinoy Jose P.

Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the religious head of Kashmiri Muslims, talks to Amit Baruah in this episode of the Frontline Conversations podcast at his home in Nigeen, Srinagar. After years of house arrest, he shares his views on Kashmir’s current situation and its future. The Mirwaiz discusses the recent elections in Kashmir, calling them a “consolidated ballot” against the changes made by New Delhi since 2019. He says people voted to show they reject these changes, not because they’re happy with the “Naya Kashmir” idea. He talks about how the BJP government’s actions have affected Kashmir.

The Mirwaiz believes that removing Article 370 hasn’t solved any problems. Instead, he thinks it has made the Kashmir issue more international, with China now involved because of Ladakh. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq compares the current BJP government with Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s time. He remembers Vajpayee’s efforts to solve the Kashmir issue “within the ambit of insaniyat” (humanity). The Mirwaiz sees the current government’s approach as very different, saying it wants to “finish the identity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).”

Amit Baruah is a senior journalist.