G. M. Saroori

Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, also known as G. M. Saroori, is an Indian politician and a former legislator of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, who represented the Inderwal constituency of Kishtwar district from 2002 to 2018 until the coalition government was ended in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Saroori was affiliated with the Indian National Congress until August 2022, during which he also served as its vice-president. He later briefly joined the Democratic Azad Party following its formation in September 2022, but rejoined the Congress on 28 June 2025. In 2008, he was appointed a Minister of State for Tourism, Forest, School Education, Social Welfare and Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution, and later served as the Minister for Mechanical Engineering and Roads & Buildings from 2009 to 2010.

Early life Ghulam Mohammad Saroori was born to Saidullah Saroori, who served as the sarpanch of the Sarthal panchayat for 32 years. He worked for the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department for two months before becoming a businessman alongside his father. He fathered three daughters and two sons.

Political career Saroori became associated with Nirmala Deshpande who was a social worker and Gandhian. He was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly consecutively in the 2002, 2008 and 2014 elections as a member of the Indian National Congress. He played a key role in defusing the communal tension after the theft of an idol from the Mata Sarthal Devi Mandir by getting the culprits arrested. He was however cleared of all charges by the Central Bureau of Investigation in August 2012.

A complaint was lodged with the State Accountability Commission against Saroori in October 2012 over alleged allotments of around 2,000 tenders during his tenure as the Minister of Roads & Buildings. He was however cleared of all charges in February 2014 as they stemmed from the period of April—June 2009 when Abdullah held the portfolio.

Saroori was appointed a vice-president for the state unit of the Congress in March 2015. He was conferred the Best Legislator Award for the year 2014–15 by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in 2016. He was later exonerated by the agency. He joined the Democratic Azad Party launched by Azad on 26 September 2022. He lost his seat in 2024. On 28 June 2025, he returned to the Indian National Congress at a ceremony in Srinagar attended by senior party leaders. His comeback was viewed as a boost for the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir and a setback for the Democratic Progressive Azad Party.