SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office to four new ministers on October 27, 2026, as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expanded his Council of Ministers. The four National Conference legislators include veterans Ali Mohammad Sagar and Mir Saifullah, who returned to the cabinet, and Shameema Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani (Altaf Kaloo), who secured their first ministerial berths. Representing Srinagar, Kupwara and Anantnag districts, the four bring legislative experience and party organisational influence to the government.
Ali Mohammad Sagar, Srinagar
Born in 1958 and hailing from Habba Kadal in Srinagar’s old city, Haji Ali Mohammad Sagar is among the most experienced legislators in Jammu and Kashmir. He has never lost an Assembly election since entering electoral politics.
After serving as president of the National Conference’s youth wing, Sagar contested his first Assembly election in 1983 and won the Batamaloo constituency. He retained the seat in 1987 before shifting to Khanyar in 1996, from where he has won every subsequent Assembly election, including those held in 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2024.
His 2014 victory came by a margin of 1,167 votes over the Peoples Democratic Party’s Khurshid Alam. In the 2024 Assembly elections, he defeated former Srinagar Deputy Mayor Sheikh Imran, who contested as an independent, by 9,912 votes to secure his seventh Assembly term. He shares the distinction of winning seven Assembly elections with senior National Conference leader Abdul Rahim Rather.
Sagar has considerable experience in government, having served as Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj during Omar Abdullah’s first term as Chief Minister. He has also been the National Conference’s general secretary since 2014, making him one of the party’s senior organisational figures after Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah.
His return to the cabinet brings a veteran legislator with a long electoral record and substantial organisational experience into the government.
Mir Saifullah, Kupwara
Mir Saifullah, who hails from the Shumnag area of Kupwara district, is a four-time MLA who has represented Kupwara three times and returned to the Assembly in 2024 from Trehgam. Known for his understated political style, he has maintained a longstanding presence in the district’s politics.
He first entered the Assembly in 1996 after defeating Choudhary Salam-ud-Din in Kupwara by 1,011 votes. He retained the constituency in 2002 with a narrow margin of 132 votes and won again in 2008 by 5,182 votes.
His winning streak ended in the 2014 Assembly elections, when Bashir Ahmad Dar of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference won Kupwara, leaving Mir in third place. He returned to the Assembly in 2024 after winning from Trehgam.
Mir is not a first-time minister. During Omar Abdullah’s first government, he was inducted into the Council of Ministers in a reshuffle in January 2013 and held the Law portfolio. His latest induction marks his return to ministerial office after more than a decade.
His experience in both legislative and ministerial roles adds another seasoned figure to the expanded cabinet, while his return from Trehgam strengthens the government’s representation from north Kashmir.
Shameema Firdous, Srinagar
Advocate Shameema Firdous, a lawyer by profession and president of the National Conference’s Women’s Wing, is a three-time MLA from Habba Kadal in Srinagar’s old city. She is the only woman among the four ministers inducted into the Council of Ministers, and her elevation marks her first stint as a cabinet minister.
Firdous first won Habba Kadal in 2008, defeating BJP candidate Hira Lal Chatta by 1,702 votes after polling 2,374 votes. She retained the constituency in 2014, defeating the BJP’s Moti Koul by 2,359 votes.
Her strongest electoral performance came in 2024, when she secured 12,437 votes and defeated BJP candidate Ashok Kumar Bhat by 9,538 votes. Her tally accounted for nearly 65 per cent of the votes, underlining her hold over the constituency.
She was among only three women elected to the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in 2024, making her induction significant for women’s representation in the government.
Firdous has previously held a public position with ministerial status. During Omar Abdullah’s first government, she was appointed chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir State Commission for Women with the status of a Minister of State. Her new role, however, marks her entry into the cabinet itself.
As president of the party’s Women’s Wing and a three-time legislator, she brings both organisational responsibilities and electoral experience to the government.
Altaf Ahmad Wani (Altaf Kaloo), Anantnag
Altaf Ahmad Wani, popularly known as Altaf Kaloo, represents the Pahalgam Assembly constituency in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. He comes from a business family in the Aishmuqam area and has been associated with the National Conference’s electoral politics since 2008.
Kaloo first contested the Assembly elections in 2008 on a National Conference ticket but lost to the Peoples Democratic Party’s Rafi Ahmad Mir. He returned to the contest in 2014 and defeated the same opponent by 904 votes to win his first term in the Assembly.
His biggest electoral victory came in 2024, when he defeated Mir, who contested on a Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party ticket, by a margin of 13,756 votes in Pahalgam. The result marked a substantial turnaround from his first electoral contest and consolidated his position in the constituency.
Kaloo’s induction into the cabinet is his first since entering electoral politics in 2008. His appointment brings a legislator from south Kashmir into the ministerial team, alongside the more experienced Sagar and Mir and first-time cabinet inductee Firdous.
His rise from an unsuccessful first contest to a decisive victory in 2024 reflects his electoral trajectory in Pahalgam. The ministerial berth also gives the constituency direct representation in the Council of Ministers.
