NC rift deepens after J&K reshuffle; Omar Abdullah faces uphill task to unite flock

After months of speculation and delays, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reshuffled his cabinet on Tuesday, inducting four new ministers and dropping Satish Sharma. But what was meant to fill vacancies and strengthen his government has instead exposed growing discontent within the National Conference, with disgruntled MLAs publicly expressing their anger over being denied ministerial berths.J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to the four new ministers at the Lok Bhawan auditorium in Srinagar. Those sworn in on Tuesday were veteran NC leader Ali Mohammad Sagar, a former minister and seven-time MLA; Saifullah Mir, a four-time MLA and former minister; Shamim Firdous, a three-time MLA; and Altaf Ahmad Wani 'Kaloo', a two-time MLA.DEPUTY CM SURINDER CHOUDHARY ONLY HINDU FACE IN J&K CABINETCM Omar Abdullah dropped one of his serving ministers, Satish Sharma, from the cabinet. Sharma is an Independent MLA from the Chhamb Assembly constituency in Jammu district.After the 2024 Assembly polls, Sharma extended his support to the NC government and was sworn in as a minister. Notably, with Sharma's exit, J&K now has only one Hindu face in the cabinet. Deputy CM Surinder Choudhary, an NC MLA from the Nowshera Assembly constituency in Rajouri district, is now the only Hindu minister in Omar Abdullah's cabinet.Under the J&K Reorganisation Act, Jammu and Kashmir can have a maximum of 10 per cent of its MLAs as ministers. With the J&K Assembly's strength at 90, the maximum number of ministers allowed, including the Chief Minister, is nine. When Omar Abdullah took over as Chief Minister of J&K in 2024, his cabinet had six members, leaving three vacancies. On Tuesday, he not only filled those three vacancies but also replaced Satish Sharma with a new minister.Among the four new ministers, Ali Mohammad Sagar is the seniormost, having previously served as a minister in both the Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah governments. However, his induction has raised questions among many in J&K because of his age and reportedly poor health.His proximity to party chief Farooq Abdullah may have worked in his favour. Ali Mohammad Sagar represents the Khanyar Assembly constituency in Srinagar district.Shamim Firdous, a three-time MLA and a prominent woman face of the NC, was also inducted as a minister to give women greater representation in the J&K cabinet. Notably, the J&K Assembly has only four women MLAs, with two each from the NC and the BJP. Sakina Itoo, an NC MLA from Damal Hanji Pora in South Kashmir's Kulgam district, is already serving as a minister in Omar Abdullah's government. With Firdous's induction, both women MLAs from the NC are now ministers in J&K.Saifullah Mir, a four-time NC MLA, has also served as a minister in the past. He is a prominent NC face from North Kashmir.Altaf Ahmad Wani, an NC MLA from Pahalgam in South Kashmir, also made the cut and was inducted as a minister on Tuesday. He is a two-time MLA from the Pahalgam Assembly constituency.CABINET RESHUFFLE WIDENS RIFT WITHIN NCTuesday's cabinet reshuffle has widened the rift within the National Conference. Several NC MLAs who had hoped to become ministers are upset and have made their displeasure public.Veteran NC leader Mubarak Gul, a six-time MLA and former Speaker of the Assembly, was the first to express his disappointment over being denied a ministerial berth by CM Omar Abdullah. Speaking to the media in Srinagar on Tuesday morning, he said he had attended 20 oath-taking ceremonies during his political career but had always been left out. He said he had once again been snubbed and overlooked in the latest cabinet reshuffle.Later in the day, his supporters stormed the party headquarters in Srinagar and staged protests against the party leadership for not considering Gul for a ministerial berth. Raising slogans such as "Gul Gul Sher Gul," they demanded that he resign from the NC and chart his own political course.Embarrassed by the protests, the NC leadership went into damage-control mode and immediately appointed Gul as the party's general secretary in an attempt to pacify him.But Gul was not alone. Another NC MLA, Abdul Majeed Larmi from Anantnag West, even broke down while expressing his disappointment.Sources said more NC MLAs were miffed with the party leadership for denying them ministerial berths. The party leadership is believed to be working hard to pacify the disgruntled legislators.Meanwhile, the BJP claimed that the Omar Abdullah government's days were numbered. Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the J&K Assembly, Sunil Sharma, said it was the beginning of the end and that the Omar Abdullah government would collapse on its own.Sources also said NC MLAs were upset after CM Omar Abdullah publicly rebuked them for sending him long WhatsApp messages while lobbying for ministerial berths.CONGRESS STAYS OUT OF MINISTRYMeanwhile, the NC's ally, the Congress, once again decided not to join the government, although it committed to continuing its support to the NC government.J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra confirmed that the NC leadership had reached out to the Congress about joining the cabinet. However, the Congress reiterated its stand that it would not join the cabinet until statehood was restored.NO IMMEDIATE THREAT TO OMAR ABDULLAH GOVERNMENTAs the NC deals with internal rumblings, there is no immediate threat to the Omar Abdullah government.In the 90-member House, the NC has 41 MLAs. It also enjoys the outside support of six Congress MLAs, along with five Independents and one CPM legislator. This takes the government's strength to 53, well above the majority mark of 46.The BJP has 29 MLAs, the PDP has four, and the J&K People's Conference has one.However, the NC is concerned that the BJP may launch 'Operation Lotus' along the lines of Maharashtra. Moreover, the NC's rebel MP from Srinagar, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, who has been at loggerheads with CM Omar Abdullah, is likely to quit on November 3 and may even float his own outfit.The NC is seeking to prevent its disgruntled MLAs from joining the Aga Ruhullah camp.Clearly, CM Omar Abdullah faces an uphill task of keeping his flock together.- Ends