17 NC MLAs issue 15-day ultimatum to address ‘coterie culture’, other issues in party

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. File

At least 17 legislators from the ruling National Conference (NC) on Friday (October 30, 2026) held a four-hour meeting in Srinagar and issued a 15-day ultimatum to party president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah to address issues, including “unilateral decisions” and “coterie culture”.

The meeting, which started around 3 p.m. and ended at 6 p.m., was held at the residence of NC legislator Qaiser Jamsheed Lone in Srinagar’s Friends Colony. Senior NC leaders, including Mubarak Gul, Nazir Gurezi, and Abdul Majeed Larmi, were among those in attendance. An Independent legislator, Muzaffar Iqbal Khan from the Thanamandi constituency, also attended.

The rebellion within the party came three days after party vice-president and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expanded the Cabinet, increasing the number of ministers from six to nine. Since then, many legislators have publicly expressed their anger and demanded their inclusion. They included Mr. Gul, Mr. Gurezi and Mr. Larmi. Around a dozen NC legislators boycotted a dinner hosted by party president Farooq Abdullah after the Cabinet expansion.

An NC legislator, who attended the meeting, told The Hindu that a joint resolution was passed at the meeting and that it would be shared with the party leadership with a 15-day ultimatum to address the issues.

“A kitchen cabinet system and the coterie culture have to end. Such a culture is dominating the functioning of the party right now. There was no formal or informal consultation with the elected leaders ahead of the Cabinet expansion. This is an unhealthy party culture. It is a rebellion in favour of the party,” said the NC leader.

Another NC leader accused Omar Abdullah’s adviser Nasir Aslam Wani and MP Shami Oberoi of “insulating Mr. Abdullah and imposing decisions on elected members”.

“The party has to respect its own MLAs. People voted the NC to power with certain expectations. The party should discuss its failures of the past two years and work on its manifesto,” said another NC legislator.

The legislators were also unhappy with the Chief Minister’s “unfair distribution of portfolios despite the complaints raised against Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary”.

“There has been no application of mind in distributing the portfolios. The party should take MLAs on board and take decisions in a democratic fashion. Those who failed to perform as ministers in the past two years should be dropped and not rewarded with key portfolios,” said an MLA.

Another legislator said it was not about portfolios or ministries but the “party’s functioning”. “Dr. [Farooq] Abdullah has to address the issues faced by the party,” the MLA added.

NC legislators, however, ruled out any attempt to split the party “as of now”. At present, the NC-led government has the support of 50 MLAs in the 90-member House, in which the party has 42 seats of its own.

The development also comes at a time when NC MP Aga Syed Ruhullah has decided to quit the party and resign from Parliament on November 3. Mr. Ruhullah is currently galvanising support for a public rally on that date to be held in central Kashmir, where he will announce his future course of action. He has openly criticised the Chief Minister for allegedly “reneging on the promises made in the election manifesto” and “failing to fight for the return of special status to J&K and the rights of the people”.

On Friday, Mr. Ruhulla said, “The crown prince and his cabal treat J&K as an estate passed down through the family. They expect the people to vote, then know their place. They take us for fools who cannot tell a broken promise from a political necessity. Ask them to honour their own manifesto, and they lecture us on how little we understand realpolitik.”

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He said the NC fought the election on issues like the restoration of Article 370, the release of prisoners and the protection of the rights of the people of J&K, but “then treated us as fools for expecting them to deliver”.

“We refuse to lend our name to this humiliation. There is no fixing this rot from within. The seat was won on a promise to the people. I will surrender it rather than make himself an accomplice to that promise’s betrayal,” he added.

Meanwhile, NC president Farooq Abdullah on Friday (October 30, 2026) evening issued a statement that NC legislator Haji Ali Mohammad Sagar would “continue to function as general secretary of the party till further orders”. Earlier, the post had been offered to Mr. Gul.