Six months as Jammu & Kashmir CM, Abdullah struggles to navigate power imbalance

Srinagar: Over six months into his tenure as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah is facing an increasingly uphill battle — one marked by constitutional constraints, political discontent, and the lingering legacy of August 2019.

Abdullah returned to power in a historic UT-level election last year, promising to “fight for the restoration of Article 370, statehood, accelerate development, and revive democratic institutions.” But half a year later, his administration finds itself operating under severely restricted authority.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, passed after the region’s autonomy was revoked, has significantly reduced the powers of the elected government. Key decisions on land, security, and bureaucratic appointments now rest with the Centre-appointed Lieutenant Governor, leaving Abdullah with limited influence.

While his election was seen by some as a move toward political normalization, ground realities tell a different story. According to sources within the administration, Abdullah is increasingly frustrated by the tight framework imposed by the Centre, which sidelines the Chief Minister’s office in most major decisions.

Compounding the difficulties is the Centre’s continued hesitation to fulfill its promise of restoring statehood — a pledge reiterated multiple times since 2019 but with no concrete timeline. This delay has left Abdullah walking a political tightrope: trying to maintain legitimacy in the eyes of his voters while navigating a governance structure designed to limit his influence.

“Undoing the post-2019 governance model is a tall order,” political commentator and former head of department of Political Science at University of Kashmir, Professor Gul Wani told DH. “Abdullah has to prove he can deliver under constraints, and that’s a very narrow window to work within.”

Wani pointed out a core contradiction in Abdullah’s leadership: “He campaigned as if he was taking charge of a full-fledged state, but he’s governing a Union Territory with restricted powers. That gap is now becoming evident.”

Public dissatisfaction is rising. Unemployment remains high, development projects are sluggish, and contentious issues like land rights and domicile laws continue to spark unrest. Opposition leaders, including PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and People’s Conference chief Sajjad Lone, have intensified their criticism of Abdullah’s administration, accusing it of failing to deliver on electoral promises.

Internal discord has also begun to surface within Abdullah’s National Conference. Party MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, known for his outspoken stance against the BJP, has confronted Abdullah over several key public issues. Recently Mehdi said the NC has virtually cut off communication with him ever since he stood by protesting students during a demonstration against the controversial reservation policy last year.

Adding fuel to the fire, former RAW chief A.S. Dulat’s book leaves the NC government in a spot of bother. In his book “The Chief Minister and the Spy”, Dulat —known to be close to the Abdullah family—portrays Omar’s father, Farooq Abdullah, as someone open to working with New Delhi and even hints he might have facilitated the passage of the Article 370 revocation through the Assembly.

With diminished authority, growing public frustration, and unrest within his own party, Omar Abdullah faces a politically treacherous path ahead.