Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, the senior Shia Muslim leader and Srinagar-Budgam Member of Parliament, on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, resigned from both the National Conference (NC) — Jammu and Kashmir's ruling party — and his Lok Sabha seat, ending a 24-year association with the party. The announcement, made before a large gathering at Behisti Zehra Park in Budgam, was accompanied by a direct and sustained attack on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and party President Dr Farooq Abdullah.

The Break: What Mehdi Said

Mehdi opened his address with a pointed gibe at the Chief Minister: 'The chair you occupy today has power, but no respect; if you want to see respect, come to Budgam.' He then signed his resignation from the NC's primary membership in full view of the assembled supporters — a deliberate act of public theatre designed to underscore the finality of the split.

He explained that he had declined to contest the 2024 Assembly elections, arguing that whatever autonomy and self-respect Kashmiris once held had been stripped away through a process that began in 1953 and was completed when Article 370 was abrogated in 2019. Notably, Mehdi claimed the NC leadership had 'literally begged' him to stand in the Lok Sabha elections, promising Parliament would be the rightful forum to press the case for statehood and the restoration of Article 370. He disclosed he has recordings of those conversations, stating he intends to release them publicly.

Broken Promises and Electoral Betrayal

Mehdi methodically catalogued what he described as electoral promises the NC had abandoned after winning power. He cited commitments on Article 370 restoration, reservation reforms, free LPG, and free electricity. On reservations, he argued the current distribution leaves open-merit candidates competing for only 30 per cent of government jobs and training seats. On electricity, he recalled that Omar Abdullah had pledged during the campaign to throw smart electricity meters into the Jhelum River — only to hike tariffs after taking office.

He also revisited Omar Abdullah's defeat in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, saying the Chief Minister had told him after that loss that the honour of both party and people now rested entirely with Mehdi. 'I told him Allah would have a better plan for him, and his defeat could be the indicator of a bigger role for him in J&K,' Mehdi recounted.

Direct Challenge to Farooq Abdullah

Mehdi directed sharp words at party president Dr Farooq Abdullah as well, invoking religious authority: 'Dr Sahib, you told me to read the Quran. Isn't the Quran for you and your son as well? If you had read the Quran, you would know that Allah commands us not to bow our heads before the oppressors and not to lose hope.'

He warned Omar Abdullah that no intervention from Delhi would protect his position, and predicted the Chief Minister would be voted out of power. Departing with a rhetorical flourish, Mehdi quipped that while leaders who lose their positions are miserable, he was voluntarily discarding the chair — and remained content doing so.

What This Means for NC and J&K Politics

Mehdi's departure removes a prominent Shia voice from the NC's coalition at a critical moment, when the party is navigating the pressures of governing a Union Territory still awaiting full statehood restoration. The NC swept to power in the 2024 Assembly elections largely on a platform of restoring J&K's special status, a pledge now under intense public scrutiny. His claim that he holds recorded evidence of private commitments made by the party leadership adds a potentially damaging evidentiary dimension to what might otherwise have been a routine political rupture.

This is also the first significant internal defection since the NC returned to government, and it arrives wrapped in the language of faith, dignity, and broken promises — a potent combination in Kashmir's political climate. The coming days will test whether Mehdi's exit triggers a broader realignment among Shia voters and independent voices who backed the NC in 2024.