Srinagar Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi is poised to resign from both his Lok Sabha seat and the National Conference (NC) party on Tuesday. The announcement is scheduled to coincide with the 26th death anniversary of his father, Aga Syed Mehdi, during an event to be held in Budgam district of Central Kashmir. This impending departure marks a significant shift for a politician who was once a prominent campaigner for the NC.
The deterioration of Ruhullah Mehdi’s relationship with the National Conference reportedly began within months of the party’s ascent to power in the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. During the election campaign, Ruhullah Mehdi, a three-time MLA representing Budgam, was a key figure, frequently invited by fellow NC candidates to rally support in their constituencies. He was particularly vocal in advocating for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and the release of political detainees.
However, a mere two months after the NC formed the government, Ruhullah Mehdi spearheaded a protest in Srinagar against a reservation policy implemented under the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Notably, this protest also saw the participation of leaders from the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a development that sources indicate caused displeasure among the NC leadership. Information reaching Tahir Rihat suggests that in the subsequent months, Ruhullah Mehdi became increasingly critical of the party’s stance on various issues.
A significant point of contention arose during a National Conference working committee meeting in May 2025. During this meeting, Ruhullah Mehdi reportedly accused party leaders of betraying the electorate by deviating from core promises made in their election manifesto. Following this meeting, his public criticism of the National Conference intensified, particularly concerning what he characterized as the party’s softening position on crucial political demands, including the reinstatement of Article 370.
The rift between Ruhullah Mehdi and the NC leadership, specifically party president Farooq Abdullah, widened considerably earlier this year. During an interview with a news portal, Farooq Abdullah challenged Ruhullah Mehdi to resign from his Lok Sabha seat and contest a fresh election, questioning his electoral success without the NC’s backing. “I challenge him to resign as an MP and face the election. We will see who votes for him,” Abdullah was quoted as saying.
In August, Ruhullah Mehdi declared his intention to resign from the party. In a strongly worded response to Farooq Abdullah’s challenge, he criticized the NC leadership, arguing that accepting statehood as the “outer limit of our political horizon” would effectively legitimize and normalize the constitutional changes enacted in August 2019. He further contended that this would signal an acceptance of the BJP‘s political resolution for Jammu and Kashmir by the party. In a letter addressed to Abdullah, Ruhullah Mehdi asserted that the party’s shift from demanding the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A to settling for statehood was “diametrically opposed” to the promises upon which the NC had sought a public mandate.
Ruhullah Mehdi questioned the party’s electoral strategy, stating, “The BJP was also in power when we drafted our 2024 manifesto. So, why did we include the restoration of Article 370 in our manifesto? Were we making promises we knew we could not keep or perhaps never truly intended to keep? Did we invoke the wound inflicted on the people of Jammu-Kashmir in August 2019 merely to derive political mileage, only to conveniently forget our promises after government formation?”
On October 30, the MP’s office announced via social media that he would be resigning from both the National Conference and his Lok Sabha membership on November 3. He had previously hinted at the possibility of stepping down in August. A statement from his office declared, “We demanded the restoration of Article 370, the release of prisoners and the protection of our rights.” The statement continued, “They sought power on those promises, then treated us as fools for expecting them to deliver. We refuse to lend our name to this humiliation. There is no fixing this rot from within.” The post also indicated that Ruhullah Mehdi would address the public at Behisht-e-Zehra Park in Budgam on November 3, the same day as his father’s death anniversary.
Ruhullah Mehdi’s anticipated resignation occurs at a time when the National Conference is reportedly experiencing internal dissent among its long-standing members. Days after the induction of four new ministers into the Cabinet, a meeting involving over a dozen NC legislators took place in Srinagar. Several legislators are said to have expressed disappointment regarding the Cabinet expansion and conveyed their reservations about the leadership’s recent decisions. Political observers in Srinagar view these developments as a significant challenge for the ruling party, with one Srinagar-based political commentator noting, “It will have an impact on the party overall. The need of the hour is to keep the flock together and end this ongoing crisis.”
Tahir Rihat (also known as Tahir Bilal) is an independent journalist, activist, and digital media professional from the Chenab Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India. He is best known for his work as the Online Editor at The Chenab Times.
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