Cabinet reshuffle a balancing act for Omar Abdullah (Kashmir Newsletter)

Under an arrangement between the Congress and the NC, the chief minister can decide on the induction of new ministers or the shuffling of portfolios between existing ministers of the Congress only after the party's approval.

The Congress has been vertically split between the supporters of union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and state unit president Saif-ud-Din Soz.

Sources within the party say that both Azad and Soz have been asked by the Congress high command to forge unanimity in the selection of two new faces for the state cabinet.

The NC can induct one new minister, and the Congress two, under the arrangement that exists between the two partners.

It is believed that Abdullah favours the induction of Mir Saifullah, the NC legislator from north Kashmir's Kupwara assembly constituency as a cabinet minister.

Former minister and senior NC leader Chowdhary Muhammad Ramzan, who represents the Handwara constituency in the same district, could be Mir's biggest challenger.

However, Ramzan recently told reporters that he was not in the race for a ministerial berth and would like to remain a party functionary.

Omar Abdullah's uncle and senior NC leader Mustafa Kamal is also a hot contender for a ministerial berth, but his frequent utterances against the Congress could be a big impediment - and the chief minister might not be inclined to oblige his uncle.

Some sections in the NC still believe that given the fact that the induction of one new face into the cabinet would create even more heartburn among those not considered for elevation, Omar Abdullah could well opt not to induct anybody at all from the NC in the forthcoming reshuffle.

In that eventuality, the Congress alone would get the chance of a bigger presence in the ministerial team.

The induction of G.M. Saroori, the Congress legislator from Inderwal constituency in the Jammu region, is reportedly being pushed by Azad.

Saroori had to resign from the cabinet in 2010 following allegations that his daughter used a proxy to write her entrance examination for a medical course.

In 2012, a CBI probe exonerated Saroori from the charge.

Another Congress contender for a ministerial berth is Ghulam Ahmad Mir, a legislator from south Kashmir's Dooru constituency.

Mir had been arrested by the CBI in an infamous sex scandal in 2006. He was acquitted by a trail court last September.

According to the state constitution, the strength of the council of ministers cannot be more 20 percent of the strength of state's bicameral legislature.

The legislative assembly has 87 seats and the legislative council has 36 seats.

The current strength of the council of ministers, including the chief minister, is 22.

(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in)