Srinagar, Dec 29: As 2025 nears its end, the news agency- Kashmir News Observer (KNO) looks at how Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other politicians shaped the political landscape in Jammu and Kashmir during the year.
The healer – Manoj Sinha
In 2025, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha emerged as an architect of healing in Jammu & Kashmir, with his initiatives empowering victims of terror, Pakistani shelling and natural calamities.
Manoj Sinha’s initiative to provide government jobs to families of terror victims in Jammu & Kashmir was appreciated across the board, both within the region and at the national level. His efforts empowered grief‑stricken communities who had long been forgotten by successive regimes in Jammu & Kashmir and abandoned by society.
Sinha’s vision of healing extended beyond terror‑related victims, as he played a key role in facilitating the construction of new houses for families affected by Pakistani shelling during Operation Sindoor and by natural calamities in the Union Territory.
Beleaguered politician – Omar Abdullah
For Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, 2025 proved to be a year of crisis, and he found himself repeatedly steering his government through storm after storm.
His government found itself in the midst of political and non-political controversies, one after another. Omar was himself trying to defuse the controversies. He was often seen blaming the Union Territory’s power architecture and Kashmir-based opposition parties to wriggle himself out of controversies.
Superb performer – Aga Ruhullah
In 2025, the National Conference’s rebel MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi emerged as a superb performer both inside and outside Parliament. His vociferous anti-government positioning, stemming from the party’s failure to fulfill electoral commitments and his anti-BJP stance on religious issues, has enhanced his stature in the eyes of the public. He delivered the biggest electoral setback to the National Conference since Omar Abdullah’s defeat in the 2002 polls from Ganderbal. His decision to stay away from campaigning for the NC in Budgam by-election resulted in the party’s defeat.
Chanakya of J&K politics – Sunil Sharma
Leader of Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Sunil Kumar Sharma proved to be the Chanakya of J&K politics in 2025. Sharma engineered the biggest instance of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls held in October this year, with eight MLAs who were expected to vote for the NC-led alliance ended up voting for the BJP to help it win one of the four Rajya Sabha seats.
Sharma also displayed his tactician skills in the recent Assembly by-elections for Budgam and Nagrota, with the ruling party in J&K losing both seats.
Acknowledging his skills, the BJP high command deployed Sharma in Brahmaputra plains of Assam where elections are scheduled in 2026.
Biggest critic – Sajad Lone
Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone was the biggest critic of Omar Abdullah-led government in 2025 and left no opportunity to target it. His party may have just one member in the House but he was more vociferous than other opposition parties in criticising the government within and outside the Assembly.
His videos in chaste Kashmiri have enabled him to reach out to a wide audience with his “UTT” and “TUTT” catchphrase becoming popular in Kashmir. (KNO)
