By Ravi Velloor, South Asia Bureau Chief

NEW DELHI: Mr Omar Abdullah, the third-generation scion of Kashmir's most prominent political family, is poised to take charge of India's northern-most province after stitching up a deal with Congress, an arrangement that could indicate a generational change to come in the national party as well.

Mr Abdullah, at 38, will be the youngest chief minister of an Indian state when he takes office soon. He will have a deputy chief minister from Congress, where his chum Rahul Gandhi is the heir-apparent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mr Gandhi had backed Mr Abdullah, who is seen by many as the man best placed to mend decade-long divisions in an insurgency that has killed more than 47,000 people since 1989.

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