Omar Abdullah, a prominent political figure in India, has played a significant role in the contemporary political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir. He has served as the former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and Chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference since 2009.

He became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and the youngest Lok Sabha member after forming a government in coalition with the Congress Party on 5 January 2009.

He was the last leader of the opposition in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir  Legislative Assembly before the assembly was dissolved in 2018 and the state of Jammu and Kashmir ceased to exist in August 2019.

He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha, representing the Srinagar constituency of Jammu and Kashmir. He was the Union Minister of State for External Affairs from July 2002 to December 2002. He resigned from the NDA government in 2002 to concentrate on party work.

Omar joined politics in 1998, as a member of Lok Sabha, a position he retained in subsequent three elections and also remained the Union Minister. He lost the 2002 state assembly elections. Four years later he contested again and won in the 2008 Kashmir State Elections.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Omar Abdullah showed unwillingness to go for a seat-sharing agreement with other political parties under the INDIA alliance in Jammu and Kashmir and insisted on his National Conference party contesting all seats in the Kashmir region.

In 1998, at the age of 28, Omar was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha becoming the youngest member. In 1998-99, he was a member of both the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism’s Consultative Committee. In 1999, he was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha and took oath as Union Minister of State, Commerce and Industry. In July 2021, he became the youngest Union Minister when he was made the Union Minister of State for External Affairs.

After the 2008 Kashmir Elections, the National Conference won the maximum number of seats and formed a coalition government with the Congress Party and Omar was sworn in as the 11th Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

He has been appointed as a member of the Coordination Committee of the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance at its Mumbai convention on September 1, 2023. The coordination committee will decide the national agenda, common campaign issues and common program of the country’s main opposition alliance.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha Election Omar Abdullah was defeated.