New Delhi: The Congress party has been downgraded from being a minor partner in the new Jammu and Kashmir government to a near-irrelevant presence, following the support of four independent MLAs for the National Conference, the leading party in the recently victorious coalition.
The independents—Pyare Lal Sharma, Satish Sharma, Choudhary Mohammed Akram, and Dr. Rameshwar Singh—won seats in Inderwal, Chhamb, Surankote, and Bani, respectively, and have pledged their backing to the NC. With this support, the party now boasts a total of 46 lawmakers, surpassing the majority threshold in the 90-member assembly, excluding the five members to be appointed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Consequently, the Kashmiri party is not reliant on Congress for governance, further complicating the challenges the latter has faced over the past decade, which have been exacerbated by ongoing leadership disputes and repeated electoral setbacks, including a recent loss in Haryana. While the NC’s majority is fragile—with even a single MLA’s departure dropping them below the threshold—the Congress, holding six seats, could still regain relevance if they can maintain all their current seats. However, for the moment, the Congress does not pose a significant concern for Omar Abdullah.
In the recent vote count, the National Conference secured 42 seats, while the Congress managed to secure six. The Bharatiya Janata Party, as anticipated, dominated the Jammu region, achieving 29 seats, which has since increased to 32 with the backing of three additional independents. Meanwhile, the People’s Democratic Party, led by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, has significantly weakened, retaining only three seats from the 28 it won in 2014, effectively losing any chance of influencing the government formation.
