Ram Madhav says Ruhullah's rally has 'our people's blessings' as NC fractures
Synopsis
BJP National Vice-President Ram Madhav pointedly said Ruhullah Mehdi's Budgam rally was held with 'our people's blessings' — even as he denied party involvement in NC's affairs. Hours later, Ruhullah resigned from both the NC and his Lok Sabha seat, reducing the NC to a single MP in Parliament and throwing the Omar Abdullah government into deeper uncertainty.
Key Takeaways
BJP National Vice-President Ram Madhav said on 3 November 2026 that Ruhullah Mehdi's rally had the blessings of 'our people', while denying direct BJP involvement in NC internal affairs.
Ruhullah Mehdi resigned from the primary membership of the National Conference and announced he would relinquish his Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha seat.
He submitted a resignation letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla , describing it as 'voluntary and genuine'.
The NC now holds only one Lok Sabha seat from Jammu and Kashmir after Ruhullah's exit.
Madhav's visit included a closed-door meeting at BJP's Trikuta Nagar headquarters amid reports of growing dissent within the NC following a recent Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah .
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Vice-President Ram Madhav on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, said that dissident National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha member Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi was holding a public rally with the blessings of 'our people' — a remark widely read as a signal of BJP's tacit support for the dissent roiling Jammu and Kashmir's ruling party.
Madhav's remarks at Jammu press conference
Addressing a press conference in Jammu, Madhav said he would 'not like to comment' on the matter, yet was unambiguous in his reading of the NC's condition. 'The National Conference is visibly divided today,' he told reporters. 'Ruhullah is holding the rally today with the blessings of our people.'
In the same breath, Madhav distanced the BJP from direct involvement. 'Let me reiterate that we have no involvement in the internal affairs of the National Conference. Whatever statements our MLAs make are a separate matter. This is entirely an internal matter of the NC and its leaders are fighting among themselves,' he said. He added that statements made by BJP legislators should not be taken as the party's official position.
Ruhullah resigns from NC and Lok Sabha seat
The backdrop to Madhav's remarks was a dramatic day in Budgam. Ruhullah Mehdi — a senior Shia Muslim leader and the sitting MP for the Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha constituency, which he won in the 2024 elections on an NC ticket — held a large public rally in Budgam town where he announced his resignation from the primary membership of the NC. He also declared his intention to relinquish his Lok Sabha seat.
Ruhullah subsequently submitted his resignation letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The letter stated that 'the resignation is voluntary and genuine and is tendered of my own free will,' and requested that it be accepted.
Impact on NC's parliamentary strength
Ruhullah's exit deals a direct blow to the NC's parliamentary presence. With his departure, the party now holds only one seat in the Lok Sabha. Of Jammu and Kashmir's five Lok Sabha seats, two are held by the BJP, one by incarcerated leader Engineer Rashid, and one by senior NC figure Mian Altaf Ahmad.
Context: Cabinet expansion and growing dissent
Madhav's visit to Jammu — a day-long trip that included a closed-door meeting with senior BJP leaders at the party headquarters in Trikuta Nagar — came amid widening reports of discontent within the NC following a recent Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Several BJP MLAs and senior leaders have publicly claimed that the NC is heading towards a split and that the Omar Abdullah-led government could be at risk. Madhav declined to speculate on future political developments, saying the situation would have to unfold before any conclusions could be drawn.
Notably, Madhav had played a pivotal role in engineering the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015-2016, giving him credibility as a dealmaker in the region's complex political landscape. His presence in Jammu on a day of such charged political activity will inevitably sharpen scrutiny of BJP's stated non-involvement in NC's internal crisis.
Point of View
Coinciding precisely with Ruhullah's resignation, stretches the claim of non-involvement to its limits. If the Omar Abdullah government faces a floor test, this moment will likely be cited as the day BJP helped light the fuse it now claims not to be holding. The deeper story is structural: the NC won a comfortable mandate in 2024, yet Cabinet expansion politics has fractured it within months — a warning about the fragility of coalition arithmetic in a region where political identities are still settling post-Article 370.
NationPress
3 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Ruhullah Mehdi resign from the National Conference and his Lok Sabha seat?
Ruhullah Mehdi resigned from the primary membership of the National Conference and announced he would relinquish his Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha seat at a public rally in Budgam on 3 November 2026. His resignation comes amid reports of growing dissent within the NC following a Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, though Ruhullah has not publicly detailed his specific grievances beyond the resignation announcement.
What did Ram Madhav say about Ruhullah's rally?
BJP National Vice-President Ram Madhav said at a Jammu press conference that Ruhullah was holding his rally 'with the blessings of our people.' He simultaneously denied that the BJP had any involvement in the NC's internal affairs, and said statements by BJP MLAs should not be taken as the party's official position.
How does Ruhullah's resignation affect the National Conference in Parliament?
With Ruhullah Mehdi's departure, the National Conference now holds only one Lok Sabha seat from Jammu and Kashmir. Of the five seats in the Union Territory, two are held by the BJP, one by Engineer Rashid, and one by senior NC leader Mian Altaf Ahmad.
Is the Omar Abdullah government at risk of collapse?
Several BJP MLAs and senior leaders have publicly claimed the NC is heading towards a split and that the Omar Abdullah-led government could be vulnerable. However, Ram Madhav declined to speculate on future political developments, saying the situation would need to unfold before conclusions could be drawn.
What is Ram Madhav's background in Jammu and Kashmir politics?
Ram Madhav, BJP National Vice-President, was instrumental in forming the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015-2016, making him one of the party's most senior figures on regional affairs. His day-long visit to Jammu on 3 November included a closed-door meeting with BJP leaders at the party's Trikuta Nagar headquarters.
