Mystery lunch in Dachigam

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took National Conference legislators to the forbidden forest destination of Dachigam on the outskirts of Srinagar on June 3, 2026, in a rare bid to address growing concerns within the party over a host of brewing issues. | Photo credit: The Hindu

Tthe Dachigam open-air surprise lunch organized by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his legislators on June 3, 2026 was dissected more for the venue and selfies. Rules such as no internet and self-service for lawmakers during lunch have turned the Dachigam National Park meeting into a mystery. The fact remains that this was a rare bid by the 20-month-old chief minister to address growing concerns within the party over a host of brewing issues.

This year, Mr. Abdullah completed more than one-and-a-half years of ruling J&K as a Union Territory (UT), which now has a disrupted power-sharing system in a region that once enjoyed the highest degree of autonomy. Mr. Abdullah still has two challenges ahead of him: first, establishing the authority of the elected government over the bureaucracy, and second, establishing a model of governance through the above-average performance of ministers. A fair assessment suggests that Mr Abdullah has failed to meet these two points.

The Omar Abdullah government has failed to finalize and secure the “Transaction of Business” rules necessary to determine the domains of the Chief Minister, Council of Ministers (CoM) and Lieutenant Governor (LG). The seven-year-old UT is yet to determine the powers of the CM, CoM and LG. This volatile situation further constrained the elected Chief Minister. If the UT model takes away the CM’s say in security matters, the lack of Transaction of Business rules will make it impossible for him to control the bureaucrats. Currently, J&K has LG-walla bureaucrats, a term used for pro-LG officials, and CM-walla bureaucrats, but no J&K-walla officials to address the governance issues of the people who turned out in record numbers outside the polling booths for the 2024 assembly elections.

Mr. Abdullah blames the Center for the delay in approving trade rules. But even there was no visible protest against its lack. This allowed official loyalties to shift in other directions.

‘internal affairs’

Mr Abdullah also faces palace intrigue. There is a growing desire among a large section of National Conference (NC) lawmakers to see cabinet expansion. In a 90-member UT, the Chief Minister can have a cabinet size of 10% of the total strength of the assembly. Mr. Abdullah filled six ministerial berths and reserved three for his ally, the Congress. However, the Congress took the stand of “not joining the government until statehood is restored”. NC legislators from Srinagar, numbering around eight, are open about the need to have a minister from the summer capital of J&K. At present, Omar Abdullah’s cabinet fairly represents the Jammu division by having a non-NC deputy chief minister and two ministers from the region. However, several NC legislators say the party has won about 36 assembly segments from the Kashmir division and remains underrepresented in the government. While Cabinet Minister Sakina Itoo represents South Kashmir, Javed Dar is the voice of North Kashmir.

Mr Abdullah has always brushed aside media questions about the cabinet expansion as an “internal party matter”. But the fact remains that this is a matter of representation and the concern of his constituents, even the legislators. In Srinagar, voters in North Korea are eager to connect with the government to air their grievances and have them addressed. Besides, most of the posts in the government councils remain vacant and the party is undecided whether the legislators can become heads or not. These headless councils have failed to function in line with the government’s vision.

In 2009, when Mr. Abdullah first became chief minister, he had 10 cabinet ministers and 14 junior ministers. Currently, there are ministers with around a dozen portfolios who influence the functioning of these departments. More ministers in the civil secretariat in Srinagar will bring more bureaucrats under the government to implement policies effectively.

Being the chief minister of UT has always been a crown of thorns. In fact, Mr Abdullah predicted the functioning of the UT government before the 2024 elections: “I don’t see myself in a position where I have to ask the LG to pick a peon for me, I am sitting outside waiting for him to sign the file”. For Mr. Abdullah, the only option is to fight and ensure that he does not draw flak from his constituents on the governance front.

Published – 30 Jun 2026 01:16 IST