Srinagar, Oct 27: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday expanded his council of ministers with the induction of four new ministers, all from the Kashmir Valley, while speculation persists over the possible dropping of a sitting minister.
The new ministers are Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shameema Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani (Kalloo). With their induction, the strength of the Abdullah-led Cabinet has increased from six members. Under the rules, a Union Territory cabinet can comprise up to 10 per cent of the Assembly’s total strength, which stands at 90 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Former minister and seven-time MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar, the National Conference (NC) general secretary, has never lost an Assembly election. He was first elected from Batamaloo in 1983 and retained the seat in 1987 before shifting to Khanyar, from where he won in 1996. In the 2024 Assembly elections, he defeated independent candidate and former Srinagar Deputy Mayor Sheikh Imran by 9,912 votes.
Mir Saifullah, who has represented Kupwara constituency three times, won the Trehgam seat following delimitation in the 2024 Assembly elections.
Pahalgam MLA Altaf Ahmad Wani and Habbakadal MLA Shameema Firdous were inducted into the Cabinet for the first time. Wani has represented Pahalgam twice, while Firdous won the Habbakadal seat for the third time in 2024.
Firdous, president of the NC’s women’s wing, is the second woman in Omar Abdullah’s council of ministers after Sakina Itoo.
Sagar took the oath of office in Urdu, while Saifullah, Firdous and Wani were sworn in in English.
Ahead of the Cabinet expansion, all ministers had submitted their resignations to the Chief Minister.
The ceremony was attended by Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder ChaudharyAssembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, NC president Farooq Abdullah and legislators from the ruling alliance and opposition parties, including the PDP and BJP.
The Congress, an ally of the government, stayed away from joining the Cabinet, reiterating its stand that it would not become part of the council of ministers until statehood is restored. (Agencies)