J&K Cabinet Reshuffle: Only 1 Hindu Face, No Representation For Jammu For First Time In 70 Years

News india J&K Cabinet Reshuffle: Only 1 Hindu Face, No Representation For Jammu For First Time In 70 Years

Last Updated:October 27, 2026, 19:37 IST

In J&K's political history, Jammu city and Srinagar city have always been given equal weightage

In a historic first that has triggered massive resentment in Jammu, the Omar Abdullah cabinet after Tuesday’s reshuffle has not only left Jammu district with zero representation but has also reduced Hindu representation to just one minister in the entire 9-member council, despite having multiple options from Jammu division itself.

For the first time since 1953, 8 out of 10 districts of Jammu division have no minister, and Jammu city – which along with Srinagar city forms the twin capital power structure – has been completely left out while Srinagar has two ministers. This is being seen as not just a regional imbalance, but also a religious imbalance.

ONLY ONE HINDU LEFT – BIG QUESTION MARK

In the context of today’s reshuffle, the religious composition has become even more important.

Earlier, there were two Hindu ministers in the cabinet – Satish Sharma (Independent, Chhamb-Jammu) and Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary (Nowshera-Rajouri).

After dropping Satish Sharma, now only one Hindu face is left in the cabinet — Dy CM Surinder Choudhary.

Had the Chief Minister wanted, he had clear options to maintain both regional and religious balance, especially from the Chenab Valley, which is also completely unrepresented now.

The options available were:

Pyare Lal Sharma – Inderwal (Kishtwar district): A senior NC leader who won as an independent/NC supported candidate from Inderwal, a Hindu face from Kishtwar district. He could have represented the entire Chenab Valley.

Rameshwar Singh – Bani (Kathua district): Independent MLA from Bani in Kathua district, a Hindu from the hilly Billawar-Bani belt. He could have given representation to Kathua district which has 6 assembly seats and zero minister.

Arjun Singh Raju – Ramban (Ramban district): This is the most talked about. Raju is NC’s own MLA from Ramban assembly. He is a Hindu face, belongs to Ramban district, and could have catered to the entire Chenab belt – Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar. He is a loyal NC worker and winning from Ramban, a difficult seat, was a big achievement. Had he been inducted, NC would have got a Hindu face and Chenab would have got representation. But he was also not given a chance.

8 DISTRICTS UNREPRESENTED – A FIRST

After today’s development, the cabinet has 7 ministers from Kashmir Valley and only 2 from Jammu division – both from Pir Panjal (Rajouri and Poonch).

It means there is zero representation from Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar and Reasi — 8 districts out of 10 in Jammu division.

Only Rajouri and Poonch have ministers. 80% of Jammu division is unrepresented. The entire Chenab Valley (Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar), which has 6 assembly seats and is often called the most backward region, has no minister. The entire Jammu-Samba-Kathua industrial belt, which has 18 assembly seats, has no minister.

WHY JAMMU CITY MATTERS

In J&K’s political history, Jammu city and Srinagar city have always been given equal weightage. If Srinagar gets a minister, Jammu also gets one. Today Srinagar district has two ministers, while Jammu district, which has 11 assembly constituencies – the highest in any district of J&K – has none.

“This is not about one MLA. This is about the sentiment of Dogras. If you have 11 MLAs from Jammu district, how can you ignore all of them?" said a retired professor in Jammu University.

70-YEAR HISTORY: NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE

A look at the last 70 years proves this has never happened.

1953-1975 (Bakshi, GM Sadiq, Mir Qasim era): Every cabinet had Jammu faces like Ch. Ram Piara (Bishnah-Jammu), Trilochan Dutt (Jammu City), Balraj Puri.

1975-1982 (Sheikh Abdullah): Mangat Ram Sharma (Jammu), Rangil Singh (Bishnah-Jammu), Dharam Pal (Jammu).

1982-2002 (Farooq Abdullah): Mangat Ram Sharma became Dy CM, along with Romesh Sharma (Gandhinagar-Jammu), Dharam Pal, Hari Singh (Marh), Bodh Raj Bali (Nagrota-Jammu). Farooq always kept 3-4 ministers from Jammu district.

2002-2008 (Mufti + Azad): Mufti’s cabinet had Mula Ram (Raipur Domana-Jammu), Suman Bhagat (RS Pura-Jammu). Azad’s cabinet had Mula Ram, Mangat Ram Sharma, Babu Singh (Bishnah-Jammu), Tara Chand (Khour-Jammu district then).

2009-2014 (Omar + Congress): The most Jammu-heavy cabinet – Sham Lal Sharma (Akhnoor-Jammu), Raman Bhalla (Gandhinagar-Jammu), Tara Chand (Chhamb-Jammu), Ajay Sadhotra (Marh-Jammu).

2015-2018 (PDP-BJP): Kavinder Gupta (Gandhinagar-Jammu) became Dy CM, Bali Bhagat (Raipur Domana-Jammu), Priya Sethi (Jammu city), Sham Choudhary (Suchetgarh-Jammu).

Even in Omar’s first cabinet in Oct 2024, Satish Sharma (Chhamb-Jammu) was there to ensure mainland Jammu is represented.

So, this is the first time in independent India’s history that Jammu district has zero ministers, and Hindu representation has come down to just one.

POLITICAL FALLOUT

The decision has given BJP an issue. LoP Sunil Sharma said this proves NC is a Kashmir-centric party that does not believe in Jammu. NC’s own MLAs from Pir Panjal are already unhappy demanding removal of Dy CM Surinder Choudhary, while senior Kashmir leaders like Mubarak Gul, Nazir Gurezi and Abdul Majeed Larmi are upset over denial of berths.

Observers say if CM does not correct this imbalance by giving representation through Boards, Corporations, Advisors or by inducting Arjun Singh Raju or Rameshwar Singh in future, the alienation in Jammu will deepen and will be visible in the coming DDC, Panchayat and ULB polls.

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