SRINAGAR: With National Conference president Farooq Abdullah calling on his son and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to contest the forthcoming Assembly polls in the Union Territory, it remains to be seen whether Omar, who has announced not to contest Assembly polls till restoration of statehood to J&K, will reconsider his decision and contest the Assembly polls likely to be held in mid 2023.
Farooq Abdullah in his first speech after taking over as the NC president for another three years term, asserted that his son and former CM Omar Abdullah would have to contest the Assembly polls. After the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and bifurcation of J&K state into two Union Territories by Centre, Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti have announced that he would not contest the Assembly polls in J&K till restoration of statehood.
“I am the party president and I am telling you (Omar) that you will have to contest the polls. We all have to jump into the fray and contest polls to defeat them,” Abdullah said. It now remains to be seen whether Omar, who is NC’s vice president, would obey his party president and reconsider his decision. According to a political analyst, CM in a UT is not powerful as the real power lies with the Lt Governor, who can overrule cabinet decisions and hamper smooth function of the government as is the case in Delhi UT.
“This might have played a role in Omar’s decision not to contest the Assembly polls in UT. After being a powerful CM yielding all powers including that of home department, Omar has taken a principle stand not to contest the Assembly polls fully knowing that CM in UT is powerless,” he said.
The political commentators feel that after Abdullah’s suggestion to Omar to contest Assembly polls, Omar has been caught in a Catch-22 situation. “If he (Omar) agrees to contest polls, it will be said he has compromised on his principles and if disagrees, it will amount to indiscipline by not obeying the party president’s advice,” they said.