Srinagar, Aug 27: National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah has decided to contest from the Ganderbal constituency, once considered the Sheikh family pocket borough given that his father Farooq Abdullah, and grandfather Sheikh Mohommad Abdullah never lost this seat.
The NC released a list of 32 candidates on Tuesday, which includes Abdullah for the Ganderbal seat. This constituency, which Abdullah represented from 2009 to 2014 during his tenure as Chief Minister, had been a focal point of speculation regarding his political future.
Abdullah had previously vowed not to contest the elections for the Union Territory assembly as he had led a state assembly in a unified J&K, including Ladakh. However, following discussions with party leaders and considering the impact on his party’s electoral prospects, he decided to reconsider.
On Sunday, at a joining function in Ganderbal, Abdullah was requested by party leaders to reconsider his decision of not contesting the polls. They also suggested he could contest from Ganderbal.
However, on Monday he dropped hints at reconsidering his decision not to contest the elections. The NC vice president said, “I am talking with my colleagues about this.”
Speaking to media after the NC and Congress announced their seat-sharing arrangement, “I do not want to send out a ‘wrong signal’ by asking my party colleagues to contest and the people to vote for an assembly ‘that I may be suggesting that I look down upon’,” Abdullah said.
He admitted that he had been reflecting on his previous position, “I am conscious of one thing which I had not thought over fully, which is my mistake. If I was not ready to contest an election for an assembly, how could I get the people ready to vote for that assembly? How can I hope that my colleagues will seek votes for an assembly that I am not ready to accept or may be suggesting that I look down upon? It has put pressure on me and I do not want to give a wrong signal to the people.”
Asked about the NC-Congress alliance and the announcement of a “friendly contest” on five seats between the alliance partners in J-K, Abdullah said those five seats were difficult for both parties to leave for the alliance.
He also noted that there were issues over the CPI(M) wanting to field a candidate from the Devsar constituency, but an agreement was reached to allocate Kulgam to CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami.
