Omar Abdullah Expands Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet with Four National Conference Ministers
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expanded his Council of Ministers on Tuesday, inducting four National Conference legislators into the cabinet. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to Ali Mohammad Sagar, Shameema Firdous, Mir Saifullah, and Altaf Ahmad Wani, popularly known as Altaf Kaloo, at Lok Bhawan in Srinagar.
The expansion brings the total strength of the cabinet to nine, including the Chief Minister. This is the maximum permissible limit under Section 53 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which caps the Council of Ministers at 10 percent of the 90-member Legislative Assembly .
All four new ministers represent constituencies in the Kashmir Valley. The induction gives the National Conference representation across central, north, and south Kashmir. Prior to the ceremony, all sitting ministers submitted their resignations to the Chief Minister as part of the reshuffle .
Satish Sharma, an Independent MLA from Chhamb in the Jammu division, was the only minister dropped from the cabinet. Following his removal, the Jammu region will have two ministers: Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and Javid Ahmad Rana .
**Ali Mohammad Sagar**
Ali Mohammad Sagar, 68, represents the Khanyar constituency in Srinagar. He is the National Conference general secretary and a seven-time MLA. Sagar has never lost an Assembly election, first winning from Batamaloo in 1983 and subsequently from Khanyar since 1996 .
In the 2024 elections, Sagar defeated independent candidate Sheikh Imran, a former Srinagar deputy mayor, by a margin of 9,912 votes. He took his oath in Urdu . A lawyer by training, Sagar has previously held ministerial portfolios, including Rural Development in an earlier Omar Abdullah administration .
**Shameema Firdous**
Shameema Firdous represents the Habba Kadal constituency in Srinagar. She is the president of the National Conference women’s wing and has been elected from her seat for a third term .
Firdous is the second woman in the cabinet, joining Sakina Itoo from south Kashmir’s Kulgam. She took her oath in English. This is her first induction into the Council of Ministers .
**Mir Saifullah**
Mir Saifullah represents the Trehgam constituency in Kupwara district, north Kashmir. A lawyer by profession, he previously represented the Kupwara constituency for three consecutive terms before winning from the newly created Trehgam seat in the 2024 elections following delimitation .
Saifullah has prior ministerial experience. His induction adds to the representation of north Kashmir, a region where the National Conference holds significant organizational strength. He took his oath in English .
**Altaf Ahmad Wani (Kaloo)**
Altaf Ahmad Wani, known as Altaf Kaloo, represents the Pahalgam constituency in south Kashmir. He has been elected from Pahalgam for a second term and has also served in the Legislative Council .
This is his first appointment to the Council of Ministers. Kaloo arrived at the ceremony wearing a traditional Kashmiri Karakuli cap and took his oath in English . His induction provides additional representation to south Kashmir.
**Congress Stays Out**
The National Conference’s alliance partner, the Indian National Congress, did not join the cabinet expansion. The Congress has maintained its position of staying out of the government until full statehood is restored to Jammu and Kashmir .
The Congress won six seats in alliance with the National Conference, which secured 42 seats in the 2024 Assembly elections. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reportedly reached out to Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra with a cabinet offer, which was declined .
**Disappointment Among Legislators**
Senior National Conference MLA Mubarak Gul expressed disappointment at being left out of the expansion. Gul, the MLA from Eidgah, told reporters outside Lok Bhawan that he had attended approximately 30 oath-taking ceremonies over his career but had been dropped each time.
Gul said, ‘I have attended 30 oath-taking ceremonies till now. Every time I was dropped, and today as well, I am being dropped’ .
MLA Abdul Majid Larmi, who attended the ceremony, told reporters he was hurt at being excluded but expressed satisfaction with the party leadership’s decision .
**New Ministers Respond**
Mir Saifullah thanked the National Conference leadership ahead of his induction. He said, ‘I am really thankful to the Dr Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference leadership and Almighty Allah for this opportunity’ .
Shameema Firdous expressed happiness over the opportunity given to her by the party and said she would continue to work harder .
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said the expansion fulfilled the commitment made by the National Conference to the people. Choudhary said, ‘My leader has delivered. We promised the people of Jammu and Kashmir that we would carry out a reshuffle and expansion, and we have fulfilled that promise’ .
**Ceremony Attendance**
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, and MLAs from ruling and opposition parties including the BJP and the PDP .
The cabinet expansion comes nearly two years after the National Conference formed the government following the 2024 Assembly elections. The previous Council of Ministers had six members. Portfolios are expected to be redistributed among the expanded cabinet in the coming days.
