Srinagar, Oct 25: The Omar Abdullah-led government is set for a cabinet expansion on Tuesday, with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha scheduled to administer the oath of office and secrecy to new ministers.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Lok Bhavan Auditorium, Srinagar on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
" Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha will administer the Oath of Office and Secrecy to Legislators being inducted into the Council of Ministers at Lok Bhavan Auditorium, Srinagar on Tuesday, the 27th day of October, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. You are cordially invited to grace the occasion," reads the invitation.
Invitees have been asked to confirm participation by 5 pm on October 26 and to arrive by 10:00 a.m. on the day of the ceremony.
It will be the first cabinet expansion of Omar Abdullah government, which assumed office on October 16, 2019.
At present J&K has six ministers including Chief Minister while three posts are lying vacant.
It is likely that CM may drop at least two of his ministers to bring new faces in the cabinet.
According to Omar, the list of ministers is ready and was finalised after consulting National Conference president Farooq Abdullah.
Asking party MLAs not to lobby for cabinet berths, he said, "There is no need to knock on Farooq sahib's door, my door or anyone else's door. The decision on who will become the minister has been made".
He appealed to party colleagues to be patient. "It will be decided by God first and then by us," he said.
The CM also expressed dismay at the volume of messages and approaches he has received from aspirants.
"Please do not send me WhatsApp. I am getting so many WhatsApp messages and long letters," he said. He said some were sending their bio-data, adding, "Neither do I know their bio-data nor do I know them. The decision has been made."
"Please do not send me WhatsApp or call me. Please do not knock on my door. The reshuffle will take place in the next 2-3 days," he said.