States » NorthPosted at: Oct 27 2026 2:26PM


Omar Abdullah inducts 4 new ministers, drops Satish Sharma

Srinagar, Oct 27 (UNI) In the first cabinet expansion by J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, four National Conference (NC) legislators - Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shamima Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani, also known as Kaloo- were sworn in as ministers on Tuesday
All four are from the Kashmir Valley.
The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly inducted Ministers of the Jammu & Kashmir Council of Ministers at a swearing-in ceremony held at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday. The Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, was also present on the occasion.
The ceremony was attended by Speaker, J&K Legislative Assembly Abdul Rahim Rather, JKNC President, Farooq Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, Ministers Sakeena Masood Itoo, Javed Ahmed Rana, and Javid Ahmad Dar, Member of Parliament Gurvinder Singh Oberoi, along with several dignitaries and senior officials.
The newly inducted ministers include veteran politician Ali Mohammad Sagar, MLA from Khanyar in Srinagar; Mir Saifullah, MLA from Trehgam; Altaf Ahmad Kaloo, MLA from Pahalgam; and Shamima Firdous, MLA from Habbakadal in Srinagar. Sagar and Saifullah had previously served as ministers in Omar Abdullah’s government from 2008 to 2014.
With these four inductions and the dropping of Satish Sharma, the Council of Ministers now has nine members, including the Chief Minister, which is the maximum permissible limit.
Omar Abdullah dropped independent legislator Satish Sharma from his council of ministers, leaving mainland Jammu without representation in the Cabinet. Sharma held the portfolios of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs; Transport; Science and Technology; Information Technology; Youth Services and Sports; and ARI and Trainings.
The expansion comes over two years after the formation of the Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir.
Under the constitutional framework, the Council of Ministers in Jammu and Kashmir, which has a 90-member Legislative Assembly, can have a maximum of nine members, including the Chief Minister.
"The cabinet reshuffle is a very good move. These individuals will get to work and strive to alleviate the difficulties faced by the people," NC president Farooq Abdullah said.
The cabinet expansion, however, sparked anger among a section of the NC leaders. Senior leader Mubarak Gul publically expressed disappointment over being left out of the Cabinet expansion.
“I have attended 30 oath-taking ceremonies till now. Every time I was dropped, and today as well, I am being dropped,” Gul told reporters outside Lok Bhawan in Srinagar. Gul’s supporters also staged a protest at the party headquarters.
Immediately after his public outburst, NC President Farooq Abdullah reached out to Gul and nominated him party’s new General Secretary.
Another party legislator Abdul Majeed Larmi also expressed disappointment over being left out.
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Tags: #Omar Abdullah inducts 4 new ministers# drops Satish Sharma
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