A cabinet reshuffle is the prerogative of the elected leader of the ruling party, who, in the present case, is the Chief Minister. Therefore, the recent expansion of Omar Abdullah’s cabinet falls well within his powers. It is for him to decide the shape and composition of his cabinet. As leader of the National Conference Legislature Party, he enjoys the confidence of his party legislators. These are established norms of parliamentary democracy, and there is little room to question the authority of the leader in this regard.

It is also important to remember that Jammu and Kashmir is presently a Union Territory and not a state. The rules governing the size and composition of the cabinet are different in a Union Territory. The popular idiom, “Ek Anaar, Sau Bimaar”, aptly describes the situation in UT cabinet formations. There is a limit on the number of ministers, based on a prescribed percentage of the total strength of the legislature. Therefore, the grievances of NC legislators cannot be entertained merely because they were not accommodated in the expansion. The only reasonable ground for complaint, though even that may be difficult to establish, would be that seniority or merit was ignored while making the selections.

The much-hyped meeting of around twenty NC legislators, described by sections of the Kashmir press as dissidents or potential dissidents, does not carry much political significance when viewed against the established norms and the peculiar political history of the National Conference.

Like legislators of other parties, NC members owe much of their political standing to the party that brought them into the Assembly. Few can claim that they won solely on the strength of their personal image or individual performance. It........

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