Six months before the first assembly elections in the Union Territory of J&K, over noon chai, homemade butter, walnuts and makki ki roti, I heard a seasoned National Conference leader say with full conviction: “Omar Abdullah will never fight assembly elections in the UT arrangement.”

He believed it. I smiled.

Omar then lost North Kashmir to Engineer Rashid, told the media he would not contest the assembly polls and then ……. Not at one place but two. And won both seats.

That little arc says almost everything about the art and science of the JKNC: instinctively defensive, emotionally reactive, and then ultimately pragmatic but only after creating avoidable distrust.

The “Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi fiasco” is a replay of the same pattern, except this time the cost could be far bigger than one leader’s credibility. It could damage the only remaining space for Kashmiri-led, constitutional politics.

JKNC still has time to correct course. But it must do so without ego, and with a clear understanding: Kashmir needs both Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and Omar Abdullah together, not as rival brands. And beyond them, Kashmir needs its entire mainstream spectrum of JKNC, JKPDP, JKPC, JKAP to create a political grid strong enough to carry the weight of peace and development in the years ahead.

What JKNC got wrong with Aga – and why it matters

Whatever the exact sequence of events inside the party, the public picture is clear enough:

A leader with a powerful mandate and moral voice, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, emerged as the most credible face of post-2019 hurt and dignity politics.

Instead of showcasing him as a core pillar of the party’s future, parts of the JKNC establishment now treat him like a “problem to be managed.”

Mixed signals, guarded body language, anonymous whispers to the media, and visible discomfort at his rising stature creates the impression that the party is threatened by its own asset.

That is the fiasco. Not one meeting, not one statement – but a mindset.

Ruhullah’s politics speaks directly to what people feel about August 5, 2019, disempowerment, humiliation, and the erosion of identity. He does it in the language of faith, memory, and constitutionalism. You can disagree with his emphasis or tone, but not with his authenticity. That authenticity is........

© Greater Kashmir