Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Oct 26
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is set to expand and reshuffle his Council of Ministers on Tuesday, with new faces expected to enter the government and some incumbent ministers likely to be dropped.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is scheduled to administer the oath of office and secrecy to the incoming ministers at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar at 10:30 am.
Senior National Conference (NC) leaders Ali Mohammad Sagar, Shameema Firdous, Mir Saifullah, and Altaf Ahmad Kaloo are among those being considered for cabinet positions, sources said.
All sitting ministers have submitted their resignations to Abdullah ahead of the reshuffle, they said.
Satish Sharma, who oversees several portfolios including food and civil supplies, transport, information technology, science and technology, and youth services and sports, is likely to be dropped, the sources said.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhry, Javid Rana, who holds the Jal Shakti, forests and tribal affairs portfolios, Health Minister Sakina Itoo, and Agriculture Minister Javid Dar are likely to continue to be part of the Council of Ministers (CoM), although some portfolios could be reassigned, the sources said.
The 90-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly permits a maximum of nine ministers in addition to the CM under the 10 percent constitutional ceiling.
The government currently has six members, leaving three positions vacant.
CM Omar said on Saturday that the list of incoming ministers had been finalised after consultations with NC President Farooq Abdullah.
The changes come amid differences between the NC and its electoral ally, the Congress.
The two parties contested the 2024 assembly election together, but the Congress has stayed out of the government, saying Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood must be restored before it joins the administration.
Congress’s J&K unit president Tariq Hamid Karra said on Sunday that his party had neither been consulted nor informed about the cabinet exercise.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), another party supporting the NC government, is also expected to remain outside the cabinet.
The incoming ministers’ portfolios and any changes to existing responsibilities are expected to be announced after Tuesday’s ceremony.
