Omar Abdullah rejigged his cabinet. Now he has to address the discontent

The meeting of 18 aggrieved National Conference legislators in Srinagar on Friday has exposed the latest fault lines within the party leadership over the Cabinet expansion, with the leaders signalling that they were “unwilling” to accept the party’s decision.

This comes days after four new ministers were inducted into the Cabinet. According to legislators, even before the cabinet expansion, individual outbursts and murmurs of discontent within the National Conference had already begun surfacing. But the cabinet expansion brought this discontent to a head, triggering an organised pushback in the form of the meeting at the residence of a party MLA in Srinagar.

“It (cabinet expansion) was never going to be an easy decision. Discontent had been simmering since the government was formed in 2024 as some senior leaders felt sidelined. There was a feeling that people close to the chief minister were getting preference,” said a National Conference legislator. “With limited cabinet berths, the discontent was expected. But what has angered everyone is the arbitrariness of the decision. Once again, the senior leaders, who have remained loyal to the party through thick and thin, have been left out.”

While choosing a Cabinet was always going to be a difficult exercise for Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, particularly with more contenders than available berths, his election promises further complicated the task and raised expectations among party legislators.

During an election rally in Tangmarg, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had urged voters to give a decisive victory to party candidate Farooq Ahmad Shah, saying: “The bigger the victory margin, the bigger the portfolio”.

At an election rally in Sopore, Omar made a similar pitch for National Conference candidate Irshad Rasool Kar, urging voters to send him to the Assembly with a big margin. “If Irshad Kar sahib secures the biggest victory margin in the Baramulla district, he will be made minister in the next government,” Omar told the rally. At Rajpora in Pulwama, he gave a similar assurance while campaigning for National Conference candidate Ghulam Mohidin Mir.

In all three constituencies, the National Conference candidates were first-time legislators, with Omar’s public assurances raising their expectations of securing a Cabinet berth.

“What was the need to promise a cabinet berth for everyone when he (Omar) knew that he could induct only nine ministers,” said a party legislator from South Kashmir.

The legislators who met on Friday have several demands. These include dropping ministers who have been in the Cabinet for the past two years, fulfilling promises made to legislators and the public, and addressing grievances against two senior party leaders—Chief Minister’s advisor Nasir Aslam Wani and National Conference treasurer and parliament member Gurwinder Singh Oberoi, popularly known as Shammi Oberoi. While Wani lost the Assembly elections, Oberoi did not contest.

“Neither of them has been able to secure people’s mandate, yet both of them enjoy close access to Omar sahib and are part of the key decision-making,” said a National Conference legislator from north Kashmir. “When people who have not been elected to the assembly are given influential positions, elected legislators are justified in seeking representation in the cabinet”.

Omar Abdullah’s biggest challenge now is to keep the flock together amid growing discontent among the party’s old guard. Senior National Conference legislators Mubarak Gul from Srinagar and Abdul Majid Larmi from South Kashmir’s Anantnag have publicly voiced their resentment over being left out of the Cabinet, while their supporters have also staged protests demanding ministerial berths for them. Another senior party leader, Nazir Ahmad Khan, who represents Gurez, is also understood to be upset over the “rebuke”.

In an apparent attempt to pacify the disgruntled leaders, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah appointed Gul as the party’s general secretary in place of Ali Mohammad Sagar, who was inducted into the Cabinet. However, Gul’s refusal to accept the post has further complicated matters. Larmi, a three-time legislator, is also upset over being overlooked in favour of his junior, Altaf Ahmad Wani, who represents the Pahalgam Assembly constituency.

Regional differences

The Cabinet expansion has also brought regional fault lines within the party into sharper focus, with voters rallying behind their elected representatives to demand adequate representation in the government. Kupwara district, which gave the National Conference five of its six Assembly seats, is represented in the Cabinet by Saifullah Mir. The district also has representation in the Chief Minister’s Office through advisor Nasir Aslam Wani, while another senior leader from Kupwara, Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan, has been sent to the Rajya Sabha.

On the other hand, Pulwama and Shopian districts in South Kashmir, Budgam district in central Kashmir and Bandipora district in North Kashmir are without representation in the Cabinet. The dropping of Satish Sharma from the Cabinet has also left the Dogra heartland in Jammu without representation in the Council of Ministers, while the Chenab Valley of Jammu region continues to remain unrepresented.

The simmering discontent within the National Conference comes at a time when senior party leader and parliament member Aga Ruhullah is all set to leave the party and resign from Parliament. Ruhullah is to leave the party on November 3.

The growing discontent within the National Conference has also opened up political space for the BJP, which could seek to exploit the internal divisions to put pressure on the government. Ahead of the Cabinet expansion, BJP leaders had repeatedly claimed that Omar Abdullah would hesitate to reshuffle his Cabinet for fear of triggering a split within the party.