SRINAGAR, OCT 27: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday expanded his Council of Ministers by inducting four legislators from the Kashmir Valley, strengthening the National Conference-led government amid continuing speculation over a possible change in the existing ministerial lineup.
The newly inducted ministers are senior National Conference leader and party general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shameema Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani, popularly known as Kalloo. With their induction, the Cabinet has expanded from six members to its maximum permissible strength of nine ministers, including the Chief Minister, under the applicable constitutional framework for a Union Territory with a 90-member Legislative Assembly.
The expansion brings experienced political leadership and new ministerial faces into the government, with all four inductees representing constituencies in the Kashmir Valley. However, speculation about the possible removal of a sitting minister continues, with no official confirmation regarding any such decision.
Ali Mohammad Sagar, a seven-time MLA and one of the National Conference’s senior-most leaders, returns to the ministerial fold with an established electoral record. He first entered the Assembly after winning the Batamaloo constituency in 1983 and retained the seat in 1987. He subsequently shifted to Khanyar, from where he won in 1996 and continued his electoral journey.
In the 2024 Assembly elections, Sagar defeated independent candidate and former Srinagar Deputy Mayor Sheikh Imran by a margin of 9,912 votes. His induction is significant for the ruling party, given his organisational standing and long experience in Jammu and Kashmir politics.
Mir Saifullah, who has represented Kupwara three times, entered the Cabinet after winning the Trehgam constituency in the 2024 Assembly elections following delimitation.
For Altaf Ahmad Wani, the MLA from Pahalgam, and Shameema Firdous, who represents Habbakadal, the induction marks their first entry into the Council of Ministers. Wani has represented Pahalgam twice, while Firdous secured the Habbakadal seat for the third time in the 2024 elections.
Firdous, who heads the National Conference’s women’s wing, has also become the second woman in Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet after Sakina Itoo, giving women representation a place in the expanded ministerial team.
During the swearing-in ceremony, Sagar took the oath of office in Urdu, while Saifullah, Firdous and Wani were administered the oath in English.
Ahead of the expansion, the existing ministers submitted their resignations to the Chief Minister as part of the process preceding the reconstitution of the Cabinet.
The ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Chaudhary, Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and legislators from the ruling alliance and opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Congress, which supports the government but has remained outside the Cabinet, once again stayed away from ministerial participation. The party reiterated its position that it would not join the Council of Ministers until full statehood is restored to Jammu and Kashmir.
The Cabinet expansion comes amid the continuing political debate over the restoration of statehood, governance priorities and the composition of the Union Territory’s administration. With the induction of four new ministers, the government has strengthened its ministerial representation in the Valley, while the Congress’s continued absence underscores the unresolved political differences surrounding Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood demand.
