Aga Ruhullah's Exit: Is National Conference Losing Its Political Credibility In Jammu And Kashmir?

After nearly 24 years of association with the party, the Srinagar MP has decided to sever ties with the organisation and announced his intention to relinquish his Lok Sabha seat

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The departure of Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi exposes a widening gap between the National Conference’s 2024 election promises and the realities of governing Jammu and Kashmir. For Omar Abdullah, the challenge is no longer just managing dissent within his party but defending its political credibility. The bigger question is whether Ruhullah can turn his departure into a viable political alternative.

The departure of Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi from the National Conference (NC) marks an important turning point in Jammu and Kashmir’s political landscape. After nearly 24 years of association with the party, the Srinagar MP has decided to sever ties with the organisation and announced his intention to relinquish his Lok Sabha seat, accusing its leadership, particularly Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, of abandoning the political commitments on which it secured the people’s mandate in 2024.

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His announcement, made at a public gathering in Budgam today, is significant not merely because a senior leader has walked out of a party with which he spent more than two decades, but because the disagreement is fundamentally about the direction of politics in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.

The timing could hardly be more uncomfortable for the National Conference. The party is already dealing with dissatisfaction among a section of its legislators following the recent Cabinet reshuffle. Ruhullah’s exit has now brought an ideological confrontation into the open, adding another dimension to the questions surrounding Omar Abdullah’s leadership and the functioning of the government.

The immediate consequence may not be a threat to the survival of the elected government. Ruhullah is a Lok Sabha member, not a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. But the political implications of his departure could extend considerably beyond the loss of one parliamentary representative.

The 2024 mandate and the question of political credibility

To understand the significance of Ruhullah’s departure, it is important to revisit the circumstances in which the National Conference returned to power in 2024.

The Assembly elections were held five years after the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories. They were the first Assembly elections since 2014 and were widely viewed as an opportunity for voters to register their political preferences in the changed constitutional circumstances.

The National Conference made the restoration of Article 370 and Article 35A central promises in its manifesto. It also promised to repeal the Public Safety Act, seek the release of political prisoners and work towards restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s political rights and constitutional position.

The party secured 42 of the 90 elected Assembly seats, while the broader INDIA alliance won 49. The BJP emerged as the second-largest party with 29 seats.

The mandate gave the National Conference an opportunity to lead an elected government after years of central rule. It also raised expectations among its supporters that the party would use its return to power to press for the political demands it had raised during the election campaign.

Ruhullah’s central allegation is that the party subsequently lowered its political ambitions, replacing its emphasis on Article 370 with the demand for restoration of statehood.

This accusation goes to the heart of the NC’s political credibility. For its leadership, governing a Union Territory with limited powers........

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