In 1974 Indira Gandhi reached an agreement with Sheikh Abdullah and he became the Chief Minister of the State. He revived the National Conference which was elected with majority in the assembly elections held in 1977. Sheikh Abdullah died in 1982 and the leadership of the National Conference went to his son, Farooq Abdullah, who became the Chief Minister. But he soon was dismissed by the Governor and a breakaway faction of the National Conference came to power for a brief period. The dismissal of Farooq Abdullah’s government due to the intervention of the Centre generated a feeling of resentment in Kashmir. The confidence that Kashmiris had developed in the democratic processes after the accord between Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah, received a setback. The feeling that the Centre was intervening in politics of the State was further strengthened when the National Conference in 1986 agreed to have an electoral alliance with the Congress, the ruling party in the Centre.

Who succeeded Mufti Mohammed Sayeed as the Chief Minister of the state after his death?

Mahbooba Mufti

As per the terms of the coalition agreement, Mufti Mohammed initially led the government for the first three years. Subsequently, Ghulam Nabi Azad from the Indian National Congress took over. However, his tenure was cut short as President's rule was imposed on the state in July 2008. The subsequent election was conducted in November-December 2008. This led to the formation of another coalition government, composed of the National Conference (NC) and the Indian National Congress (INC), with Omar Abdullah as the head in 2009. Yet, the state continued to experience disturbances spearheaded by the Hurriyat Conference.

In 2014, the state underwent yet another election, which marked the highest voter turnout in 25 years. This culminated in a coalition government, with Mufti Mohammed Sayeed of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) assuming leadership and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its partner. Following Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's demise, his daughter Mahbooba Mufti assumed office as the first woman Chief Minister of the state in April 2016. Under Mahbooba Mufti's leadership, the region faced significant acts of terrorism, mounting external and internal tensions.