National Conference plans advisory councils of MLAs to address internal dissent

Farooq Abdullah. File | Photo Credit: PTI

To address internal dissent in the party, ruling National Conference (NC) president Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday (November 10, 2026) started reaching out to party legislators, offering them places in advisory councils that will work with Ministers.

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An NC leader, on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to The Hindu that Mr. Abdullah, who chaired a meeting of 17 dissenting legislators on November 6, has decided to constitute the councils. The NC has 42 legislators in the 90-member Assembly, while the Omar Abdullah government is also supported by four Independent MLAs.   

In letters to legislators, Dr. Abdullah described the proposed councils as “a bridge between the party and the government”. Party sources said the mandate of these advisory councils will be to hold “regular meetings with Ministers on policy decisions and to take stock of the functioning of the departments”.