Omar cabinet expansion ends speculation, sparks discontent

Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah, JKNC chief Farooq Abdullah and others during the swearing-in ceremony of new cabinet ministers of the Union Territory, in Srinagar on Tuesday | Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR

After repeatedly deferring the expansion, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday inducted four new ministers into his cabinet, ending speculation over the names of several National Conference MLAs tipped for ministerial berths.

Senior National Conference leaders Ali Mohammad Sagar, Shameema Firdous, and Mir Saifullah were among those inducted. Altaf Kaloo also joined the Council of Ministers, taking its total strength to nine, while Satish Sharma was dropped from the Cabinet.

Section 53 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, caps the strength of the Union Territory’s Council of Ministers at 10 per cent of the total membership of its Legislative Assembly.

The newly inducted ministers were administered the oath of office by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday morning.

With the latest expansion, the Council of Ministers now has nine members, including the Chief Minister.

The ruling National Conference’s ally, the Congress, has decided to support the government from outside rather than join the cabinet.

Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra reiterated the party’s stand that it would stay out of the cabinet until statehood was restored.

“It is our principled stand that we will not join the cabinet until statehood is restored,” Karra told reporters.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had earlier indicated that the cabinet expansion would take place soon after the National Conference’s protest in Delhi. However, the exercise was repeatedly deferred, fuelling speculation over the likely inductees and the reasons behind the delay.

Over the past few days, the rumour mill had been in overdrive, with several names doing the rounds in political and media circles.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his father and National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah had kept their cards close to their chests until the last moment.

Dissatisfaction among senior leaders

Senior National Conference leaders Mubarak Gul and Abdul Majeed Larmi expressed disappointment after being left out of the expanded cabinet.

“I have been dropped again,” Gul told reporters, apparently miffed at being overlooked.

Larmi, who was visibly emotional, said he was a senior party member and had been informed earlier that he would be among those inducted into the cabinet. He, however, said he would continue to work for the party.

Published on October 27, 2026