National Conference Faces Crisis Amid Rebellion and Discontent

The rebellion in Jammu and Kashmir's ruling National Conference may have subsided for the time being, but the discontent within the party is far from over. Resentment of about 25 MLAs, questions over the style of functioning of ministers and advisors to the chief minister, and the exit of senior leader Agha Syed Ruhullah Mehdi from the party are doing the rounds. The development has also thrown up a challenge for Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to run the government as well as restore confidence in the organisation. The political developments of the past fortnight have brought the situation within the National Conference to the fore. At one point, it seemed that the party might be heading for a split again after nearly 43 years. However, party president Dr Farooq Abdullah held talks with senior leaders and disgruntled MLAs. However, whether the real reasons for the discontent of the disgruntled MLAs have been resolved or only a temporary compromise was not yet clear.