MP Ruhullah, who is unhappy over the government's ‘soft’ policies towards the Centre and its failure to push for Article 370 restoration and equitable job reservations, was not invited to the working committee meeting. Ruhullah, who has been sidelined by the party over his criticism of the government, is a permanent member of the CWC, and this is the first time since 2002 that he has been excluded from a working committee meeting.

On the first day of the working committee meeting, Ruhullah travelled to Ganderbal in central Kashmir, where he visited the family of a Delhi bomb blast victim to offer condolences. Talking to reporters, Ruhullah dismissed speculation that he was planning to float a new political outfit. He said he has a disagreement with NC based on principles, particularly the party's commitment to fight for restoration of Article 370.

According to Ruhullah, NC got a mandate to pursue its political agenda for the restoration of statehood and look for allies across the country to create a force to seek “our constitutional guarantees” and advocate for political prisoners. “We have to fulfill those promises. We cannot dilute our cause by using BJP’s language by limiting the fight to restoration of statehood,” he said.

The NC MP said people put their trust in the mainstream in the 2024 polls and if there is a “betrayal or failure” that trust would be lost forever. Ruhullah, who did not campaign for the NC candidate in recently held Budgam bypolls, has been blamed by CM Omar Abdullah for the party's defeat in the seat.

Budgam was a stronghold of NC and the party had not lost any election from the seat since 1977. But in the bypolls, NC’s Aga Mahmood lost to PDP’s Aga Muntazir, whom Omar had defeated by about 17,000 votes a year ago during Assembly polls.

As deliberations on the second day of the two-day working committee begin today, it would be interesting to see what kind of approach the party adopts with Ruhullah. Today’s deliberations are expected to be crucial, as senior leaders might weigh their options and evaluate the potential impact of any disciplinary action against Ruhullah.

It would be interesting to see whether the NC working committee issues a show-cause notice to the disgruntled MP after the conclusion of the meeting or opts to refrain from any action to preserve the unity of the party at a sensitive political moment. The party’s next step is being closely watched.