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| 3 berths, 1 big secret: CM Omar says ‘names finalised’, but who makes the cut? | | | Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Oct 24: The countdown has begun in J&K’s corridors of power. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has declared that the names are locked in, but he has not said whose they are.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday after meeting Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan, Omar said the long-awaited reshuffle and expansion of his Council of Ministers is likely next week. He has asked the LG to keep the first two to three days free for the swearing-in.
His message to restless party legislators was blunt. “Those who want to become ministers need not send me their biodata anymore. The names have already been finalised,” he said. The remark was aimed at National Conference MLAs who have reportedly been lobbying the leadership for berths for weeks. Omar added that the list was finalised after detailed consultations with party president Dr Farooq Abdullah and the senior leadership.
The numbers decide how big the stakes are. For a Union Territory, the Council of Ministers can have at most 10 per cent of the Assembly’s strength. With a 90-member House, that caps the government at nine ministers, including the CM. Right now there are only six, Omar and five colleagues, which leaves three seats open unless some incumbents are dropped.
Three of those six come from the Kashmir division: Omar himself, Sakeena Itoo (Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare) and Javid Dar (Agriculture, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj). The other three are from Jammu: Deputy CM Surinder Choudhary, Javed Rana (PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Forest) and Satish Sharma (Transport and Sports), who is an Independent MLA from Chhamb. The rest belong to the National Conference. The five ministers each handle three to four departments, and Omar himself holds Finance, Revenue, Housing and Urban Development, Tourism and General Administration.
“If none of the current ministers is dropped, Omar can induct a maximum of three ministers,” sources said.
Will the Congress get a berth? The NC and the Congress fought the elections as pre-poll allies, yet the Congress has no minister in the government. It has six MLAs in the 90-member House, five from Kashmir and one from Jammu. Whether it is accommodated remains one of the biggest unknowns.
Can Jammu get its due? Of the NC’s 41 MLAs, only seven are from the Jammu division, two each from Ramban, Poonch and Rajouri and one from Reasi. The other 34 are from Kashmir. Four Independents from Jammu, Pyare Lal Sharma (Inderwal), Rameshwar Singh (Bani), Choudhary Akram (Surankote) and Muzaffar Khan (Thannamandi), also back the NC. The party must weigh regional and social balance carefully.
The NC has 41 MLAs, and with the lone CPM legislator M.Y. Tarigami and five Independents it is backing the government, the majority mark of 46 is safe. But a compact Cabinet has fuelled persistent demands for expansion, and aspirants and their supporters have been lobbying hard in both divisions. Political observers see the exercise as one of the most significant moves of the Omar government, one that could redistribute portfolios, bring in fresh faces and strengthen administration.
For now, only Omar and a small circle know the list. If he is to be believed, the wait is nearly over. |
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