SRINAGAR: The first cabinet reshuffle of Omar Abdullah’s government, scheduled for Tuesday, is set to test the National Conference’s (NC) internal unity. The cabinet expansion could fuel discontent within the ruling party at a time when senior leader and MP Aga Ruhullah is preparing to quit the party on November 3, potentially deepening the NC’s political troubles.
The reshuffle, intended to strengthen the government by filling vacant ministerial posts, could prove challenging for the Abdullahs.
The Omar Abdullah-led government, which assumed office in October 2024, currently has six ministers, including the Chief Minister, leaving three cabinet positions vacant.
Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Council of Ministers cannot exceed 10 per cent of the Assembly’s total strength. With 90 members in the J&K Assembly, the Cabinet can have a maximum of nine ministers, including the Chief Minister.
Sources within the NC said party president Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had decided to drop at least one sitting minister from the Cabinet. Ahead of the expansion, all five ministers have submitted their resignations to the Chief Minister.
NC MLAs have been engaged in intense last-minute lobbying for ministerial positions, while independent legislators supporting the government are also hoping to secure representation.
There is unease within a section of the ruling party amid speculation that legislators considered close to the Chief Minister could be given preference.
The NC leadership is particularly wary of a rebellion, as party MP Aga Ruhullah is scheduled to quit the party on November 3, the death anniversary of his father, who was killed in an IED blast.
Ruhullah’s differences with the party leadership have deepened over the NC’s handling of the Article 370 issue.
The party is keen to prevent dissent among its legislators and avoid any possibility of rebellion or defections to Ruhullah’s camp.
The reshuffle also poses a challenge to the NC’s alliance with the Congress, which has six MLAs in the Assembly.
Although the Congress has maintained that it will not join the government until statehood is restored, the ruling party has neither taken its alliance partner into confidence nor invited it to join the government.
Filling all vacant Cabinet positions without consulting the Congress could be seen as closing the door on the alliance and could strain relations between the two parties, which contested the 2024 Assembly elections together.
Senior J&K BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma has described the NC as being “on ventilator support” due to an internal “disease”, warning that the Cabinet expansion could lead to a vertical split within the party.
