Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Oct 30
The ruling National Conference (NC) is considering veteran leader Abdul Rahim Rather as a possible candidate for the Srinagar-Budgam parliamentary constituency following Aga Syed Ruhullah’s planned resignation, party sources said on Friday.
Sources said Nazir Ahmad Khan, popularly known as Gurezi, was also being considered for the post of Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
Gurezi, however, said that he had not been informed of any such proposal.
Ruhullah has announced that he will resign from the NC and his Lok Sabha seat on November 3, potentially triggering a by-election in the Srinagar-Budgam constituency.
Rather, a seven-time legislator from Charar-e-Sharief in central Kashmir’s Budgam district currently serves as Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. He was elected to the position in November 2024.
His possible candidature for the parliamentary seat would require a change in his current legislative role and formal decisions by the party.
The discussions come amid reported discontent within the NC following the induction of four new ministers into Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s cabinet on October 27.
More than a dozen party legislators were absent from the swearing-in ceremony, with reports attributing their absence to dissatisfaction over ministerial appointments and regional representation.
Gurezi was among those who did not attend the ceremony.
Senior NC leaders subsequently visited his Srinagar residence amid reports that he was unhappy with his exclusion from the expanded cabinet.
The possible consideration of Rather for the parliamentary seat and Gurezi for the Speaker’s post comes as the party faces the prospect of a vacancy in Parliament and seeks to manage internal differences following the cabinet reshuffle.
