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Srinagar: The rift between the National Conference (NC) and its Srinagar Lok Sabha MP, Syed Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, has grown over the years to the point where he has expressed his choice to quit the party next month. The three-time legislator in the state assembly and current MP’s disagreements with his party began with his resignation as the party’s chief spokesperson in 2020.

Ruhullah highlighted the disparity between the NC’s promises made to the voters during campaigning for the first Union Territory (UT) elections in 2024. He sees it as “NC’s non-serious approach to fulfil those electoral promises” once the party returned to power with a full majority after decades.

He was pushed further away from the party after NC president Farooq Abdullah challenged him to resign from the party and parliament last month. Abdullah asked him to seek a fresh mandate from the people. The Srinagar MP accepted the challenge and announced that he will resign on November 3, the 26th death anniversary of his father Aga Syed Mehdi.

“Yes, I am resigning from the party and as Srinagar MP. I have a few commitments before formally submitting my resignation, including disbursing MPLADS funds. I will host MPs in Srinagar to fight for restoration of J&K’s constitutional rights,” Ruhullah said.

Ruhullah, a renowned Shia cleric, has time and again accused the NC leadership of failing to fulfil its pre-election pledge to fight for Article 370 and political rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

This is not the first time that the senior NC leader and once a mouthpiece of the party has expressed disagreements on issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir.

His first conflict with his own party goes back six years to 2020.

What happened in 2020

The first confrontation between the Srinagar MP and the NC leadership happened in July 2020, immediately after the region’s special status was scrapped and the full-fledged erstwhile state was divided into two UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He, along with other political leaders were placed under detention by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led  Union government to subdue opposition against the Modi government’s decision.

After his detention was over, Ruhullah resigned as the NC’s chief spokesperson, making it clear that he no longer wanted his statements to be treated as the official position of the party. “I have sent across my resignation from the post of Chief Spokesperson of @JKNC. From here on none of my statements should be considered as such,” Ruhullah had posted on X.

Even before announcing his decision publicly, he had already removed the NC chief spokesperson designation from his social media profile. His disagreement was linked to the party’s political messaging on Jammu and Kashmir’s future, particularly the emphasis on restoration of statehood at a time when Ruhullah believed the central demand should........

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