The induction of four Kashmir-based National Conference leaders into Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah’s council of ministers on Tuesday triggered protests within the party and drew criticism from the BJP over regional representation. They claimed it is "regional and cultural imbalance".
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office to Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shameema Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani at Lok Bhawan. With their induction, seven of the nine ministers in Abdullah’s council are from the Kashmir valley, while two represent Jammu.
The four National Conference (NC) leaders, veteran politician Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shameema Firdous, and Altaf Ahmad Wani (Kalloo), were administered the oath of office by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at Lok Bhawan here.
With all four inductees hailing from Kashmir, the expansion has shifted the balance of the cabinet in the two-year-old government heavily towards the valley. Seven ministers in the now 9-member council hail from Kashmir, while deputy chief minister Surinder Chaudhary and Javaid Rana remain the only two representatives from the Jammu region.
Independent MLA from Chhamb, Satish Sharma, was dropped from the cabinet to accommodate the new inductees.
Ahead of the expansion, all ministers had formally submitted their resignations to the chief minister to facilitate the reshuffle. The maximum allowed strength of the JK council of ministers is nine, adhering to the statutory 10 per cent limit of the 90-member Assembly in the union territory.
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said "a very good cabinet change has taken place. They (ministers) will work and try to ease the difficulties and problems of the people".
The reshuffle sparked immediate anger among supporters of six-time NC MLA from Eidgah, Mubarak Gul, who staged a noisy protest outside the party headquarters at Nawa-e-Subah after his name was omitted from the cabinet list. Agitated workers raised slogans against the decision, calling it a grave injustice to a leader with 40 years of service.
Before the swearing-in ceremony, Gul expressed his dismay to reporters, saying, "I will speak at an appropriate time. I have attended 20 oath ceremonies and every time I have been dropped. You can say I have been dropped again."
In a swift bid to contain the mounting resentment, NC President Farooq Abdullah rushed to the party headquarters shortly after the ceremony and appointed Gul as the party's new general secretary, replacing Sagar, who joined the cabinet.
"Party President Dr Farooq Abdullah sb today nominated senior party leader, MLA Idgah Mubarak Gul Sb as party's new General Secretary. Wishing Gul sb all the very best," NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar posted on X.
Discontent was also voiced by another senior NC leader, Abdul Majid Bhat Larmi, who admitted feeling hurt at being left out but pledged loyalty to the party.
"After all, we are human beings. The heart naturally feels hurt - there is no doubt about that. Here I am talking to you, but from inside, my heart is burning," an emotional Larmi said, adding that he accepted the leadership's decision.
The expansion also drew sharp criticism from the BJP as the Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma accused the Omar Abdullah-led government of creating a regional divide.
"This is the first time that there is a regional and cultural imbalance," Sharma told reporters. "Governments have to take every community, region, and area along. Today, that was nowhere to be seen."
Meanwhile, the Congress, an ally of the ruling coalition, opted to remain outside the government. JKPCC president Tariq Hamid Karra reaffirmed his party's stance, stating that the Congress will not join the council of ministers until statehood is fully restored to Jammu and Kashmir.
Among the new inductees, Sagar - a seven-time MLA who took his oath in Urdu - has never lost an Assembly election since his debut in 1983. Saifullah, who won from Trehgam post-delimitation in 2024, alongside first-time ministers Wani (Pahalgam) and Firdous (Habbakadal), took their oath in English.
Firdous, who also heads the NC's women's wing, becomes the second woman minister in the cabinet alongside Sakina Itoo.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by chief minister Omar Abdullah, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, senior alliance leaders, and opposition MLAs from both the BJP and PDP. Satish Sharma remained absent from the swearing-in ceremony.