Srinagar, Apr 14: With National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah now contesting Lok Sabha polls and declaring that he will not fight assembly elections as long as Jammu and Kashmir is a union territory, what will be the roadmap for the party to have a leader (chief ministerial candidate) to lead it in the assembly polls?
And if the party gets a majority or heads a coalition government with other parties, who will be the chief minister? Will it be Dr Farooq Abdullah himself, who has decided not to contest parliamentary elections due to health reasons, or will it be somebody else from outside the Abdullah family? Till now nobody has been a chief minister outside the Abdullah family when NC has ruled J&K.
The assembly polls are scheduled to be held some months after the parliamentary elections. As per the statements made by the central government leaders in the parliament and outside, first the assembly polls will be held and after that, the statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir.
No exact time has been given for the restoration of the statehood. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech at an election rally in Udhampur a few days back announced that assembly polls will be held and statehood restored soon.
If elected Omar Abdullah, who is now the NC candidate for Baramulla constituency, will go to Parliament. He was the chief minister of the erstwhile state of J&K from 2009 to 2014. In Omar’s absence who will be the NC’s chief ministerial candidate for the coming assembly polls?
It is not the first time that Omar has said that he will not contest assembly polls in J&K union territory. He has been saying so since 2020. In fact, his father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, had advised him several times to reconsider his decision and fight assembly polls whenever held.
“I will myself contest assembly polls and request Omar sahib to contest assembly polls as well,” the NC President used to say. Now that he is not contesting the parliamentary polls because of health reasons, will he fight the assembly polls? Right now he is actively taking part in the National Conference’s election-related activities which include presiding over party meetings and other functions, addressing media and public meetings.
Dr Abdullah recently also campaigned for the Congress candidates in Jammu and Udhampur Lok Sabha constituencies. He is expected to be more in action as the campaigning will gain further momentum in the coming days.
In case Dr Farooq Abdullah decides not to contest assembly polls, will anybody from outside Abdullah’s family get a chance to become a chief ministerial candidate of NC in assembly polls? NC cannot go into assembly elections without a chief ministerial candidate announcement.
This is so because some months back Dr Farooq Abdullah had not ruled out going back to BJP-led NDA again and later NC’s rival parties alleged a “behind the scene understanding.” NC not announcing its chief ministerial candidate can be projected by these parties as a “surrender by NC to BJP’s efforts to get a majority and have its own chief minister for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir.
Announcing the chief ministerial candidate is important for NC to give confidence to party cadres and win more seats and that too in a completely changed electoral scenario of Jammu and Kashmir.
Later it will be seen whether the party gets the absolute majority and if it does not where it would stand. Will NC be in a position to head a coalition government or will it be part of a coalition government and not heading it? Or it will be in opposition after assembly polls and government formation.
In the recent past, Omar’s two sons have been seen at the NC office several times. They also helped NC leaders while hosting an ‘Iftaar’ party for media persons and others recently. Some people on social media and in political circles started saying that the two junior members of the Abdullah family are being groomed for politics. However, Omar dismissed these comments.
He told media persons what was wrong with them helping the party leaders during the ‘Iftaar’ party or in legal matters. “They have not been given a mandate to fight elections. They are not addressing party or public meetings,” the NC Vice President. Till now nobody outside the Abdullah family has been a chief minister during NC rule. In 2002 when Omar Abdullah lost the assembly election from Ganderbal NC preferred to sit in opposition.