NAVVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: A fresh rift has surfaced within the Jammu and Kashmir Congress over whether the party should join the Omar Abdullah-led government.
The bone of contention is a fresh offer from the National Conference to give Congress one ministerial berth in the upcoming cabinet expansion.
Sources said one camp led by Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra is reluctant to join the Omar Abdullah-led government until full statehood is restored to J&K while the other led by AICC General Secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir is not averse in joining the government.
The infighting has deepened at a time when the party high command is yet to take a final call on whether the Congress should join the government or continue supporting it from outside.
A large section within the JKPCC feels the party should not turn down the offer, contending that staying in alliance with the NC is crucial to retain political ground in both Kashmir and Jammu regions. With both leaders sticking to their stand, the final decision has now been left to the Congress high command in New Delhi.
As per sources it is alleged that though Karra publicly says that party would not join the government till the statehood is restored to Jammu and Kashmir, while he(Karra) seeks either two cabinet berths or one cabinet berth alongwith post of the deputy speaker for the party.
However sources further said the NC leadership has expressed its inability to accommodate two cabinet berths due to the bar of only nine ministers with J&K being the union territory.
Besides, senior Congress leaders point the that Cong and NC allegiance in Jammu and Kashmir was inked by the four person including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, NC president Dr Farooq Adbullah and now CM Omar Abdullah and any decision to join the government should be left the Congress high command.
This group argues that even one ministerial post has symbolic weight, and rejecting it would project opposition disunity when unity against the BJP is key.
While they admit it will be difficult to pick one minister from the party’s limited strength of just six MLAs, they maintain that keeping the alliance intact is more important than the question of who gets the post.
These leaders contend that even a single cabinet berth carries symbolic value and refusing it could signal disunity within the opposition at a time when cohesion against the BJP is politically crucial.
They also acknowledge the practical challenge of selecting a minister from Congress’s small and uneven pool of six MLAs, but insist that the alliance’s stability matters more than the difficulty of choosing an individual.
J&K Congress chief’s decision to go public with his stand before the high command could take a call has upset senior leader Ghulam Ahmed Mir.Sources said Mir, apprehending that Karra’s remarks could weaken the party’s negotiating position, hurried to New Delhi to brief the central leadership and push for accepting the NC’s offer.
Karra’s decision to articulate this position publicly—before the party high command could deliberate—has not gone down well with senior leader Ghulam Ahmed Mir. Concerned that Karra’s remarks may prematurely close the door on negotiations, Mir rushed to New Delhi to meet the party leadership and make a case for accepting the NC’s offer.
The NC-Congress alliance was stitched before the 2024 Assembly polls out of compulsion — NC wanted to cement its hold in Kashmir and make inroads in Jammu, while Congress, weakened after 2019, saw NC as the only force that could take on the BJP.The seat-sharing paid off — NC bagged 42 seats and Congress 6, giving the alliance a clear majority in the 90-member House.
But Congress stayed out when Omar Abdullah took oath in October 2024, demanding two cabinet berths against the one offered by NC.With NC pointing to the 9-minister cap under the J&K Reorganisation Act, Congress projected its decision to stay out as a principled stand for restoration of statehood.
