The Dogra heartland of Jammu has been left without representation after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday reshuffled his Cabinet, dropping Independent MLA Satish Sharma while inducting four NC MLAs from the Kashmir Valley.The move has tilted the Cabinet’s regional balance towards Kashmir, with seven of the nine ministers, including the CM, representing the Valley, while the remaining two are from the Pir Panjal region of Jammu.AdvertisementThe induction of four leaders is seen as an attempt by Omar to consolidate the party’s support base in the Valley and strengthen its position against the BJP in Jammu and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kashmir.The new ministers include NC veterans Ali Mohammad Sagar, Shameem Firdous and Mir Saifullah, along with Altaf Ahmad Wani, also known as Altaf Kaloo, who represents Pahalgam in south Kashmir. They join Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and ministers Sakina Itoo, Javed Rana and Javed Ahmad Dar, who have been retained.Also Read | National Conference veterans in, Jammu face out as Omar Abdullah shakes up cabinetUnder the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, the Union Territory can have a maximum of nine ministers, including the CM.AdvertisementSharma, who represents Chhamb in Jammu district, was the only minister from the region outside Pir Panjal. His exit has left Jammu, Samba, Kathua and Udhampur districts without representation in the Cabinet. The Chenab Valley region of Jammu also remains unrepresented.Sharma, son of former Congress leader Madan Lal Sharma, won the Assembly election as an Independent but supported the NC government and was subsequently inducted into the Cabinet.The new inducteesSagar, 66, is a seven-time MLA from Khanyar in Srinagar and a former NC general secretary. He served as Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister in Omar’s government from 2008 to 2014. His son, Salman Ali Sagar, represents Hazratbal in Srinagar.Firdous, 58, a three-time MLA from Habba Kadal, becomes the second woman in the Cabinet after Education Minister Sakina Itoo. She previously chaired the Jammu and Kashmir State Commission for Women with the status of a Minister of State and currently heads the NC’s women’s wing in the Union Territory.Saifullah, a law graduate from Kupwara district, has been elected to the Assembly four times. He represented Kupwara from 1996 to 2008 and won the newly carved Trehgam constituency in the 2024 Assembly elections. He served as Law Minister in the 2008-2014 government.Wani, an engineering graduate, won the Pahalgam seat in 2014 and 2024. A district-level party leader and Deputy Chief Whip in the Assembly, he is the only one among the four new inductees who had not previously held ministerial office.The reshuffle comes amid political uncertainty over NC MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, who has announced plans to resign from the Lok Sabha and quit the party on November 3. It is also being viewed in political circles as an effort to limit any fallout from the expected exit and prevent the PDP from gaining ground in the Valley.BJP challenge in JammuThe NC’s cabinet choices also come against the backdrop of the BJP’s efforts to expand beyond its traditional support base in the Hindu-majority districts of Jammu. The BJP won 29 Assembly seats in the 2024 elections, all in the Jammu region, while the NC won 42 seats across the Union Territory, including 35 in the Valley and seven in the Pir Panjal and Chenab regions.The BJP has been seeking to make inroads in Rajouri and Poonch, where Gujjar-Bakerwal and Pahari communities are politically influential. In 2024, Parliament passed an amendment to the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order, extending Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Pahari community and providing for 10% reservation.Omar’s decision to retain Choudhary and Rana is significant in this context. Choudhary, a prominent Pahari and Jat leader, defeated then BJP president Ravinder Raina in Nowshera. He is seen by the NC as an important face in its efforts to retain support among Paharis in the Pir Panjal region and Jats in the R S Pura area.Rana, a three-time MLA from Mendhar, is a senior NC leader with influence among Gujjar-Bakerwals. Retaining both leaders allows the party to maintain its political presence in the border districts even as the cabinet loses its sole representative from the Jammu plains.Political analysts say Sharma’s removal may have limited consequences for the NC’s prospects in Jammu district. Choudhary, they argue, could also have influence in the adjoining areas.NC provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta defended the expansion, saying the new Cabinet provides adequate representation to the different regions of the Kashmir Valley within the nine-member limit. He also said the continuance of Choudhary and Rana would help the party expand its support base in Jammu.Dissent brews within NCThe reshuffle has, however, triggered resentment among several NC leaders who had hoped for ministerial berths.On Tuesday, two newly inducted ministers visited the residence of senior party leader Nazir Ahmad Khan Gurezi, a four-time MLA who served in Omar’s 2008 government but was left out of the new Cabinet.Abdul Majeed Bhat, a three-time MLA from south Kashmir, also publicly expressed his disappointment. “I am a human being. I am emotional. When I left my home in the morning my daughter hugged me,” he said, adding that he had given up a successful business to devote himself to politics.you may likeThe party has appointed veteran leader Mubarak Gul as general secretary, replacing Sagar, in what is seen as an attempt to accommodate him after his exclusion from the Cabinet. However, people close to Gul said he was yet to accept the post, with some supporters urging him to resign from the party over what they see as his marginalisation.The lack of representation for the Pahari community in the Cabinet has also prompted discontent, despite the community’s support for the NC in the elections.Omar’s immediate challenge will be to allocate portfolios to the new ministers while managing competing demands within the party.