Omar Abdullah on Wednesday offered an olive branch to Jammu by selecting two first-time Hindu legislators as deputy chief minister and cabinet minister, respectively, attempting to launch his second innings as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir by bridging the festering Hindu-Muslim divide.

Omar was on Wednesday sworn in as the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He chose five ministers, two from Kashmir and three from Jammu. Two of the Jammu ministers are Hindu and one a Muslim. He last headed the Jammu and Kashmir government between 2008 and 2014 when the region was a full-fledged state and enjoyed special status under Article 370.

The Congress, which is part of the alliance, announced it won’t join the council of ministers at the moment in protest against the non-restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

Omar’s pick for deputy chief minister is National Conference’s Noushera MLA Surinder Kumar Choudhary, who defeated Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina by a comfortable margin. Independent MLA from Chhamb — Satish Sharma, who recently extended his support to the new government — and NC veteran and Gujjar leader Javed Rana are among those who represent Jammu in the new ministry.

The two ministers from Kashmir are Sakina Itoo and Javed Dar, from south and north Kashmir, respectively.

Jammu and Kashmir’s new deputy chief minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary is sworn in Sourced by The Telegraph

Omar said the cabinet’s composition was a reflection of his government’s intent that the people of Jammu don’t feel that they have no voice or representation in the government. “This government is as much theirs as anybody else’s,” he said, vowing to continue such efforts.

Surinder appeared humbled by his selection. “I am a grassroots political worker who has been made deputy chief minister. It is a proud moment for Jammu,” he said.

Jammu has given one chief minister — Ghulam Nabi Azad — and several deputy chief ministers, including Tara Chand and Dr Nirmal Singh. This time, Hindus had little expectations after they voted overwhelmingly for the BJP.

The ruling NC faced an uphill task to strike a balance between Kashmir and Jammu after the election results dealt a resounding blow to the BJP’s goal of installing Jammu and Kashmir’s first Hindu chief minister. The BJP fell well short of the majority mark, winning just 29 of the 90 seats.

The task became even more challenging for the NC as the alliance had only two Hindu faces, none from Jammu’s Dogra (Hindu) heartland comprising the four districts of Jammu City, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua, which are home to 24 MLAs. Of the 24 seats, the BJP won 22 and Independents two.

In the larger Jammu region that has 43 seats, the NC won seven and the Congress only one, triggering fears of an impending crisis because of the possible non-representation of Hindus.

But the NC got a shot in the arm ahead of government formation after four Independents from Jammu, including two Hindus, extended support to it. One of them — Satish Sharma, son of former Congress MP Madan Lal Sharma — also found a place in the cabinet on Wednesday.

Both Surinder and Satish are first-time MLAs.

The government’s make-up also attempted to blunt the BJP’s Pir Panchal card. The central government last year gave the Scheduled Tribe status to the Paharis, who are majority Muslims but include a significant number of Hindus and are mostly concentrated in Pir Panchal. The aim was to court the community along with the Gujjars, another major community in the area.

Despite the outreach, the BJP won only one of the eight seats in Pir Panchal, which is part of Jammu. On Monday, BJP leader Zulfkar Chowdhary favoured Union Territory status for Pir Panchal, claiming they will no longer live under the “domination” of Kashmiris.

Two of the new ministers — Surinder, a Hindu Pahari, and Rana, a Gujjar — are from Pir Panchal.

Sources close to Surinder said his nomination for the post of deputy chief minister came as a surprise to him.

“He was not even sure about getting a berth in the cabinet because he is a first-timer. To his utter surprise, he was told to sit close to Omar sahab ahead of the swearing-in as he would be taking oath as deputy chief minister. That came like a bolt from the blue for Choudhary sahab,” an associate said.

The deputy chief minister urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah to respect the mandate by restoring statehood and granting exclusive rights over land and jobs to locals.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Raina congratulated Omar and Surinder, his arch-rival.