New Delhi: The Congress party will not be part of the new Jammu and Kashmir government, despite its alliance with Chief Minister-elect Omar Abdullah’s National Conference to secure victory in last month’s election, sources reported on Wednesday morning. The party reportedly declined an offer for one ministerial position in the incoming government and will instead provide support from outside.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Abdullah stated that the National Conference is “in talks” with the Congress regarding its status.
Regardless, three senior leaders—Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the party’s General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra—are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony, which may also include eight ministers taking the oath alongside Mr. Abdullah.
Invitations have been sent to leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Akhilesh Yadav from the Samajwadi Party, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and DMK chief MK Stalin. Additionally, Congress allies for the upcoming Maharashtra election, Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, are also anticipated to attend.
Omar Abdullah is set to be sworn in as the new Chief Minister, making him Jammu and Kashmir’s first elected head of state in a decade, following his party’s success in the September-October elections.
After his election victory, Mr. Abdullah highlighted a key priority for his government: the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, which was revoked with the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
This morning, he told news agency ANI, “We have a lot to achieve. We need to instill hope in the people… that this is their government and that their voices will finally be heard. They have not been heard for the past five to six years…”
In a remarkable comeback just months after losing a Lok Sabha seat race in Baramulla, located in north Kashmir, Omar Abdullah successfully contested and won the Budgam and Ganderbal Assembly seats in this election.
The National Conference (NC) dominated the Assembly elections, securing 42 of the former state’s 90 elected seats. In contrast, the Congress, which was expected to perform well, underwhelmed by winning only six seats, down from 12 in the 2014 elections.
As a result, the Kashmiri party asserted its “big brother” status within the alliance, allowing it to name the Chief Minister. NC patriarch Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah’s father, promptly appointed his son to the position.
The NC’s position was further bolstered by support from four independent legislators and the sole Aam Aadmi Party member, who offered their backing to the party rather than its alliance with the Congress.
These results—combined with a defeat to the BJP in Haryana—intensified the pressure on the head of the INDIA bloc. Friendly factions, such as Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, an ally in next month’s Maharashtra election, criticized the bloc’s failure to maintain good relations with regional parties.
In an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece, Saamana, the Shiv Sena was sharply critical, lamenting the Congress’s ability to “turn a winning innings into a defeat” and its failure to manage state leaders effectively.
This criticism specifically referenced Congress’s Haryana strongman and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, whose reluctance to ally with the AAP for this election and to share the spotlight with fellow chief ministerial aspirant Selja Kumari were blamed for the loss.
“This always happens with the Congress,” the Thackeray Sena, a member of the INDIA bloc, stated, pointing to similar situations that undermined potential victories in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh last year.
Saket Gokhale of the Trinamool Congress, also part of the INDIA bloc, criticized the Congress’s “attitude” toward seat-sharing, urging the party to “Learn!” from the results in Haryana.
In response, the Congress has announced plans to conduct a thorough review of both election outcomes. Party leaders Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and other senior officials met in Delhi last week to discuss the situation.
After the meeting, Ajay Maken stated that several topics were discussed, including infighting and factionalism in Haryana, as well as allegations against the Election Commission.
Sources indicated that the party acknowledges the need for changes ahead of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections, and that Mr. Kharge has already met with former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
