Representative image. Syed Shahzaman1, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
If the Speaker accepts the resignation, the Srinagar constituency will have no MP in the Lok Sabha until a by-election is held, which the law requires within six months, subject to two exceptions. The exit also removes from the National Conference a sitting MP who had publicly accused its own government of dropping promises on Article 370 and statehood, while the party runs the government in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ruhullah Mehdi, the Srinagar MP, announced on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, that he is leaving the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) and giving up his Lok Sabha seat. He made the announcement at a rally at Behisht-e-Zehra Park in Budgam, held on the 26th death anniversary of his father, Aga Syed Mehdi, according to reports by Hindustan Times and the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.
Later the same day, Kashmir Life reported that he had formally sent his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. None of the reports read by NewsPlainly said the Speaker had accepted it, and acceptance is the step that legally empties the seat.
What Ruhullah Mehdi said at the Budgam rally
PTI reported that he spoke for about 80 minutes and accused NC president Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of giving up the fight to restore Article 370, the provision that gave Jammu and Kashmir special status until it was revoked in 2019. He told supporters that election promises on Article 370, the release of prisoners and free electricity “were just lies”, according to the agency’s report, and called his exit from the party a “decree of freedom”.
Daily Excelsior, carrying a report by the Kashmir-based KNC news agency, said he listed reservation policy and constitutional safeguards among the commitments he believes the party dropped. The Srinagar MP also alleged that Omar Abdullah had shifted his stand on Article 370 soon after the 2024 Assembly elections under pressure from the BJP. That is his allegation; the reports read did not carry a reply from the Chief Minister to it.
On what comes next for him, he gave mixed signals. PTI said he hinted at a new political outfit but told the crowd he was more interested in a movement for the dignity of people in Jammu and Kashmir. Daily Excelsior reported that he wants to bring educated young people onto a common platform rather than simply join another party.
What the two resignation letters say
Greater Kashmir published the full text of his letter to the party. In it, he writes that he backed the NC after 2019 believing it would lead a struggle to restore the rights taken away with Articles 370 and 35A, and that he campaigned hard for it in 2024. He says the party turned around soon after its large mandate, settled for running the government and for what he calls a vague promise of statehood, and that he cannot be part of that.
The second letter is the one that matters for his seat. According to Kashmir Life, it is dated 3 November 2026, is addressed to Speaker Om Birla, and invokes Article 101(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 240 of the Lok Sabha’s rules of procedure. The outlet quoted the letter as saying: “This resignation is voluntary and genuine, and is tendered of my own free will.” NewsPlainly has not seen the letter itself.
How the National Conference responded to its Srinagar MP
National Conference spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar told reporters on 3 November that the party still hoped the MP would rethink. “We still hope that Ruhullah Sahib will review his decision,” he said, according to Greater Kashmir. Dar said the party would lose an important voice on Article 370 in Parliament, and defended the Omar Abdullah government, saying the NC had raised Article 370 and statehood through resolutions and other platforms.
Earlier, on Saturday, 31 October, Jammu and Kashmir minister Javed Ahmed Rana had said the MP’s departure would not hurt the party and that the government was strong, Hindustan Times reported. Rana also denied that there was resentment in the party after the recent expansion of Omar Abdullah’s cabinet. The reports read for this article, checked at about 4.15 pm IST, did not carry a response from Omar Abdullah himself to the rally speech.
How the rift between Ruhullah Mehdi and the NC grew
The split did not happen overnight. This timeline uses only dates and events given in the reports read.
- 2002 to 2014: He won the Budgam Assembly seat three times in a row on an NC ticket and served as a minister, Hindustan Times reported.
- 2024: He won the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat on an NC ticket and campaigned for the party in the Assembly elections that followed.
- After the 2024 Assembly polls: He publicly accused the new NC government of not keeping promises on reservation, Article 370 and statehood, and led a protest outside Omar Abdullah’s residence in Gupkar. NC leaders responded by challenging him to give up the seat, saying it belonged to the party.
- Budgam by-election: He stayed away from the NC campaign for Budgam, the seat Omar Abdullah had vacated after keeping Ganderbal. The NC lost it to the Peoples Democratic Party’s Aga Syed Muntazir, a relative of the MP.
- August 2026: Farooq Abdullah asked him to leave the party, resign as MP and contest again on his own.
- 3 November 2026: He announced both exits at Budgam and, according to Kashmir Life, sent his resignation to the Speaker.
What happens to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat now
Under Article 101(3)(b) of the Constitution, an MP’s seat falls vacant when a written resignation addressed to the Speaker is accepted. The Speaker may not accept it if, after any inquiry he thinks fit, he is satisfied that it is not voluntary or genuine. Daily Excelsior and Kashmir Life also noted that the seat becomes vacant only after acceptance.
Once a vacancy exists, section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 says a by-election to fill it must be held within six months from the date the vacancy occurs. The section has two exceptions: when less than one year of the member’s term is left, and when the Election Commission, in consultation with the Central government, certifies that it is difficult to hold the poll within that period. The Supreme Court quoted the section in full in a May 2018 judgment on a Maharashtra Lok Sabha seat.
The first exception does not fit the Lok Sabha seat here on the dates. Under Article 83, a Lok Sabha runs for five years from its first meeting, and the present House was elected in 2024, so its term runs into 2029. On NewsPlainly’s reading of those dates, well over a year would remain if the seat fell vacant in November 2026. When the poll is held is for the Election Commission to decide, and none of the reports read gave a date.
Under Article 101, then, the Srinagar seat is not vacant until the Speaker accepts the letter, even though Kashmir Life reported that it tenders the resignation with immediate effect.
Frequently asked questions
Has Ruhullah Mehdi resigned from the Lok Sabha?
He announced it on 3 November 2026, and Kashmir Life reported that his letter was sent to Speaker Om Birla the same day. The seat is vacant only once the Speaker accepts it, and no report read said that had happened.
Why did Ruhullah Mehdi leave the National Conference?
He said the party went back on promises on Article 370, reservation, release of prisoners and statehood after the 2024 Assembly elections, and settled for running the government, according to his letter and reports of his speech.
Will there be a by-election in Srinagar?
If the resignation is accepted, section 151A of the Representation of the People Act says a by-election must be held within six months of the vacancy, unless less than a year of the term is left or the Election Commission certifies it is difficult. The date is for the Election Commission to set.