In a political comeback, Omar Abdullah is poised to take over as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir for a second time — just four months after a humbling defeat to Sheikh Abdul Rashid in the Lok Sabha elections for the Baramulla constituency.
In 2009, Abdullah became the youngest CM of J&K under circumstances that were starkly different. J&K was still a state then, and Abdullah’s government had a coalition partner in the Congress, which led the UPA government at the Centre.
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Fast forward to today, J&K is a Union Territory following the repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution, and Abdullah will now have to negotiate at every step with the office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.
At 54 now, he appears acutely aware of the hurdles he faces in his new role. Following the final results, which saw his party alone secure 42 seats in the 90-member Assembly as part of a coalition with Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he highlighted the need for cooperation, stating that J&K would not thrive under an “antagonistic relationship” with the Central government. “The PM is an honourable man…he promised the people of J&K statehood and I hope he lives up to that,” Abdullah asserted during a recent interview. The NC-led coalition netted 49 seats in the recently concluded election.
The Assembly poll results have provided a significant boost to Abdullah’s political standing. In the wake of his Lok Sabha loss, he contested two Assembly seats and emerged victorious in both Budgam and Ganderbal, winning by impressive margins of 18,000 and 10,000 votes, respectively. With National Conference president Farooq Abdullah easing into retirement, the younger Abdullah has firmly stepped out of his father’s shadow, asserting his leadership.
Having served as a Lok Sabha member three times (in 1998, 1999, and 2004) and as a junior minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, Abdullah’s political journey has been notable. He first won from Ganderbal in the 2008 elections, leading the NC to become the single largest party, and subsequently took the chief ministerial oath at just 38 years old.
Reflecting on the party’s recent electoral success, he commented on the numerous attempts to undermine the National Conference over the past five years. “So many parties were created here, whose only aim was to destroy the NC. But God’s grace has been on us, and those who tried to destroy us have been decimated in the process,” he remarked.
“It is our duty now to meet the expectations of the people through our work, and that is what our endeavour will be for the next five years,” he concluded, setting the stage for his anticipated leadership.
First Published: Oct 08 2024 | 9:54 PM IST
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