In a political comeback, Omar Abdullah is all set to take over as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for the second time – just four months after a humbling defeat to Sheikh Abdul Rashid in the Lok Sabha elections from Baramulla constituency.
In 2009, Abdullah became the youngest CM of J&K under completely different circumstances. J&K was then still a state 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 after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, and Abdullah will now have to negotiate every step of the way with the lieutenant governor’s office and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance government in the Center.
At 54, he seems well aware of the hurdles he faces in his new role. After the final results, which saw his party alone win 42 seats in the 90-member Assembly as part of a coalition with the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he stressed the need for cooperation and stated that J&K would not prosper under a ‘antagonistic relationship’ with the central government. “The Prime Minister is an honorable man… he has promised the people a state like J&K and I hope he delivers,” Abdullah claimed during a recent interview. The NC-led coalition won 49 seats in the recently concluded elections.
The Assembly poll results have significantly increased Abdullah’s political stature. In the aftermath 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 slowly retiring, the younger Abdullah has decisively stepped out of his father’s shadow and asserted his leadership.
Having served as a member of Lok Sabha three times (in 1998, 1999 and 2004) and as a deputy minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, Abdullah’s political journey has been remarkable. He won from Ganderbal for the first time in the 2008 elections, making the NC the largest party, and then took oath as chief minister at the age of just 38.
Reflecting on the party’s recent electoral success, he commented on the numerous attempts over the past five years to undermine the National Conference. “So many parties were founded here whose sole aim was to destroy the NC. But God’s grace was upon us, and those who sought to destroy us were decimated in the process,” he noted.
“It is now our duty to meet the expectations of the people through our work, and that is what our endeavor will be in the next five years,” he concluded, paving the way for his expected leadership.
First publication: Oct 8, 2024 | 9:54 PM IST