SRINAGAR: The removal of Satish Sharma, the only minister representing mainland Jammu in the Omar Abdullah-led Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, has sparked a political row, with the BJP accusing the Chief Minister of undermining the government’s regional and cultural balance after Tuesday’s Cabinet expansion.
Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leader Sunil Sharma said the Cabinet reshuffle had left large parts of the Jammu region without representation, raising questions about the government’s commitment to equitable regional representation.
“I want to congratulate the new ministers, but it is for the first time that a regional and cultural imbalance has been observed during the Cabinet expansion. Governments are formed not only to win but also to take every quarter and region along. Governments have to maintain religious, cultural and regional balance, but that was not seen today,” Sunil Sharma said.
Satish Sharma, who won the 2024 Assembly election as an Independent from the Chhamb constituency in Jammu district, was inducted into the Cabinet after the formation of the National Conference-led government. The government entrusted him with several portfolios, including Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs; Transport; Science and Technology; Information Technology; Youth Services and Sports; and ARI and Training.
The removal of Sharma has left Jammu, Samba, Kathua and Udhampur districts without representation in the Cabinet. The Chenab Valley region of Jammu also remains unrepresented, further sharpening the debate over regional balance in the government.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, an NC legislator from Nowshera in Rajouri district, is now the only Hindu minister in Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet. Choudhary represents the Pir Panjal belt, while Sharma was the only minister from the Jammu region outside Pir Panjal.
The BJP has questioned the political implications of the reshuffle, arguing that the Cabinet should reflect the geographical and cultural diversity of Jammu and Kashmir rather than leave significant areas without direct representation.
Sharma, the son of former Congress leader Madan Lal Sharma, contested and won the Chhamb seat as an Independent. He subsequently supported the National Conference-led government and was inducted into the Cabinet, where he held multiple portfolios.
His exit has now placed the spotlight on the government’s regional representation, with the BJP using the reshuffle to question whether the interests of mainland Jammu have been adequately accommodated in the reconstituted Cabinet.
