Srinagar: The expansion of Jammu and Kashmir’s Council of Ministers triggered discontent within the ruling National Conference on Tuesday, with supporters of senior leader Mubarak Ahmad Gul staging a protest at the party headquarters, Gurez MLA Nazir Ahmad Gurezi skipping the swearing-in ceremony and another senior legislator, Abdul Majeed Larmi, expressing disappointment over being left out.
The developments unfolded hours after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office to four legislators — Ali Mohammad Sagar, Shamima Firdous, Mir Saifullah and Altaf Ahmad Kaloo — at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar, bringing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Council of Ministers to its maximum permissible strength of nine, including the chief minister.
The reshuffle, the first major restructuring of the Omar Abdullah-led government since the National Conference returned to power in October 2024, also saw independent minister Satish Sharma dropped from the Cabinet.
While the party leadership defended its choices and maintained that members were free to express disagreement, the reactions of excluded legislators and their supporters brought questions of seniority, ministerial aspirations and regional representation into focus. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party also sought to use the developments to question the government’s performance, while the Congress reiterated that it would not join the Cabinet until statehood was restored to Jammu and Kashmir.
At the National Conference headquarters in Nawa-i-Subh Complex, supporters of Gul raised slogans in his favour during a meeting chaired by party president Farooq Abdullah, expressing resentment over the veteran legislator’s exclusion.
The supporters said Gul, a six-time MLA, deserved a ministerial berth because of his seniority and experience. They claimed his name had figured in the list of ministers until late Monday night but was subsequently dropped for reasons that remained unclear.
Gul had earlier expressed disappointment over his repeated exclusion from ministerial positions, saying he had attended around 30 oath-taking ceremonies without being inducted as a minister.
Seaking ahead of the ceremony, Gul said he had once again been left out of the list and indicated that he would address the media in detail later.
Following his exclusion, Farooq Abdullah reached out to Gul and appointed him general secretary of the party organisation.
Gul has represented the Eidgah constituency in 1983, 1996, 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2024.
Meanwhile, Gurezi, a senior National Conference leader representing the Gurez constituency in Bandipora district, did not attend the swearing-in ceremony despite being widely seen as a potential contender for a ministerial berth.
Newly inducted ministers Mir Saifullah and Altaf Ahmad Kaloo, accompanied by several legislators, including Javed Beigh and MLAs from Lolab and Sumbal-Sonawari, visited Gurezi’s residence at Tulsi Bagh in Srinagar as efforts were made to persuade him to accept the leadership’s decision.
Sources told Kashmir News Service that discussions were underway at the residence, but Gurezi had not agreed to the leadership’s position at the time. There was no immediate official statement from Gurezi or the party leadership on the reported discussions.
Another senior legislator, Abdul Majeed Larmi, the National Conference MLA from Anantnag West, also expressed disappointment over being left out of the Cabinet, saying he had expected to be considered for a ministerial post.
“It was God’s decision and then it was our leadership’s decision. Our leadership understood it better, although I was deserving of a ministerial post. I was expecting that it would happen to me as well,” Larmi said.
He said he accepted the induction of the four legislators but admitted that his exclusion had hurt him.
“My heart hurts because I was a senior. Secondly, I was honest. Thirdly, I was loyal. Fourthly, I was dedicated,” he said, adding that he would continue working for the party.
Larmi also referred to Satish Sharma, saying Sharma had made a commitment to join the National Conference. Sharma, an independent legislator, was dropped as part of the reshuffle.
Party defends Cabinet choices
Minister Sakina Itoo dismissed reports of protests within the National Conference, saying party members had the democratic right to express their views and that such expressions should not necessarily be described as demonstrations.
“Where are the protests happening? Are they taking place on the roads? If people are expressing their anger or views, they are doing so at the party headquarters and nowhere else,” she said.
Itoo said ministerial positions were not permanent entitlements and that legislators had several other opportunities to contribute to the party and government.
She also rejected allegations that Jammu had been ignored in the expansion, pointing to Omar Abdullah’s position as chief minister.
National Conference MLA Salman Ali Sagar acknowledged that some legislators were disappointed but said the leadership had to consider various factors while deciding the Cabinet’s composition.
“Everyone has desires and aspirations, and that is legitimate. However, the leadership has its own compulsions and limitations,” said Sagar, the MLA from Hazratbal.
He said the party had attempted to ensure representation from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir, including North, South and Central Kashmir.
Forest Minister Javid Rana, meanwhile, congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir on the completion of the expansion, saying the uncertainty surrounding the Cabinet’s composition had ended.
“Congratulations to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Today, under the leadership of Omar Abdullah, the full Cabinet has come into existence,” Rana said.
He said the expanded ministry would now take charge of its responsibilities and focus on governance.
Seniority and regional representation shape reshuffle
The four inductees bring substantial legislative experience to the government, with the National Conference placing seniority and previous ministerial experience at the centre of its choices.
Ali Mohammad Sagar, a seven-time MLA from Khanyar in Srinagar, has held ministerial positions in previous governments and is among the party’s most experienced legislators.
Mir Saifullah, a four-time legislator, represented Kupwara for three terms before winning from the newly created Trehgam constituency in the 2024 Assembly elections. He also has previous ministerial experience.
Shamima Firdous, a three-time MLA from Habbakadal, and Altaf Ahmad Kaloo, a two-time MLA from Pahalgam who has also served in the Legislative Council, are entering the Council of Ministers for the first time.
The appointments give representation to Srinagar district through Sagar and Firdous, North Kashmir through Saifullah and South Kashmir through Kaloo.
Firdous will become the second woman in the ministry after Itoo, who holds the portfolios of Health and Medical Education, Education, and Social Welfare.
The expanded Council of Ministers comprises seven members from Kashmir division and two from Jammu division. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, the National Conference MLA from Nowshera who defeated former Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina in the Assembly elections, remains the lone Hindu member of the ministry.
The Congress, an alliance partner of the National Conference, has stayed out of the government over the delay in restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The expansion came nearly two years after the National Conference formed the government following the 2024 Assembly elections. During the initial phase of government formation, the party inducted Sakina Itoo and Javid Ahmad Dar into the ministry before undertaking the latest restructuring.
BJP targets government over promises and corruption allegations
The BJP sought to turn the developments into a broader challenge to the ruling party, saying the Cabinet expansion could not divert attention from unfulfilled election promises, corruption allegations and reported differences within the government.
Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma urged the new ministers to focus on public welfare rather than political disputes, while saying Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was responsible for addressing the grievances of legislators who had been left out.
“I congratulate the newly appointed ministers. They should work hard for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and come out of the political tussle the government is currently caught in to serve the common masses,” Sharma said.
Referring to the excluded legislators, he said he would stand by them but maintained that it was the chief minister’s responsibility to address their disappointment.
“I will wipe their tears, but it is Omar Sahab’s responsibility to wipe those tears. We will also wipe them,” he said.
Asked about his repeated assertions that the government could fall, Sharma urged patience, saying it was too early to draw conclusions immediately after the swearing-in ceremony.
BJP senior leader and Udhampur East MLA Ranbir Singh Pathania said the government must answer questions about its election commitments, allegations of corruption against ministers and concerns reportedly raised by legislators at Dachigam.
Pathania questioned whether the government was more concerned with managing ministerial positions than meeting public expectations. He called for allegations of corruption to be investigated fairly and responsibility to be fixed wherever wrongdoing was established.
He said a Cabinet reshuffle could not substitute for delivery, transparency and accountability.
The allegations and criticism were made by BJP leaders; the party did not present evidence in the reported remarks establishing wrongdoing.
Congress says promises matter more than ministerial berths
Congress MLA Irfan Hafiz Lone said the government should focus on fulfilling its commitments to the people rather than on who had secured a ministerial position and who had been left disappointed.
He said it was natural for legislators to aspire to serve in the Cabinet, but not everyone could be accommodated.
Lone called for action on issues including the concerns of daily-wage workers, employment, ration supplies and free electricity. He also cited vote theft allegations, paper leaks, freedom of speech and restoration of statehood as issues requiring attention.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra reiterated that the Congress would not join the Omar Abdullah-led government while the Union Territory’s statehood remained unrestored.
“We have been saying for two years that we won’t join the Cabinet. There is no need to repeatedly explain why Congress is not joining the Cabinet,” Karra said.
He maintained that the party would not accept a ministerial position as long as Jammu and Kashmir continued to remain a Union Territory.
New ministers promise public service
The Cabinet expansion also prompted celebrations in Kupwara following Saifullah’s induction. Supporters in his Trehgam constituency celebrated with firecrackers and drums, crediting Omar Abdullah with fulfilling a promise of better representation for the district.
Saifullah, who won the 2024 Assembly election with 18,002 votes, said after taking oath that he would work for people across all districts of Jammu and Kashmir and make efforts to resolve public grievances.
“I am a minister for the whole of Jammu and Kashmir. I will do my best and work for every district. I will try to resolve the problems of the people,” he said, thanking the party leadership for its confidence in him.
The expanded Cabinet has reached its constitutionally permissible strength, but the immediate reactions to the appointments have exposed competing expectations within the ruling party.
While the National Conference leadership has defended its decisions and sought to contain the discontent, excluded legislators and their supporters have made clear their disappointment, leaving the party to manage internal expectations as the government turns to its administrative agenda.
