SRINAGAR : Putting months of speculation to rest, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday expanded and reshuffled his Council of Ministers, inducting four National Conference legislators while dropping independent MLA and incumbent minister Satish Sharma.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shameema Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Kaloo at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar.
The reshuffle fills the available ministerial berths, with the Council now at its maximum permissible strength of nine, including the Chief Minister.
The existing ministers retained in the government are Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, Sakina Itoo, Javid Ahmad Dar and Javed Ahmed Rana, besides Omar Abdullah.
The induction also brings Shameema Firdous into the Cabinet as its second woman minister after Sakina Itoo.
The expansion, however, has not been without disappointment within the National Conference. NC MLA Mubarak Gul and Abdul Majeed Larmi publicly voiced their resentment after being left out.
Senior NC leader Gul pointing to his long association with the party and repeated attendance at oath-taking ceremonies, said “I am dropped again”.
The reshuffle is expected to be followed by redistribution of portfolios among the ministers.