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Farooq Abdullah elected National Conference president again
Farooq has been the National Conference (NC) president since 1981, barring the period between 2002 and 2009, when his son Omar Abdullah held the top party position
Farooq Abdullah was on Monday re-elected unopposed the president of the National Conference, barely a fortnight after the 85-year-old MP from Srinagar had announced that he would not run for another term.
Farooq has been the National Conference (NC) president since 1981, barring the period between 2002 and 2009, when his son Omar Abdullah held the top party position. He had last month stepped down as the party chief, but the senior leadership persuaded him to continue.
“I wanted the younger leadership to run the party now. But, the party thought it would not be right for me to leave when we are passing through a very difficult phase,” Farooq said.
NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said only Farooq’s nomination was received till the last date of filing papers. He was elected the party’s chief at the NC’s delegate session held after leaders offered prayers at the mausoleum of party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah at Naseem Bagh in Hazratbal on his 117th birth anniversary, said NC spokesperson Imran Dar.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Jammu and Kashmir unit, meanwhile, said Farooq’s re-election showed that his party was confined to “dynastic politics” which had no place in J&K.
Yet to learn a lot from my father: Omar
“We aren’t only facing the BJP or its A, B, C, D and E teams now, but also have other challenges. We are a political party and have taken part in several political fights, but it’s different this time,” Omar said, adding that they still have a lot to learn from his father.
In recent years, Farooq has proven to be a strong voice of the NC and other traditional mainstream parties, especially after the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two union territories on August 5, 2019. He was also detained and booked under the Public Safety Act amid fears of protests. The Supreme Court also heard a petition against his ‘illegal’ detention. Besides serving as the NC president, Farooq is heading a five-party alliance – the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) – seeking restoration of Article 370.
Farooq is the senior-most politician of J&K and is respected by both young and old leadership of the NC, besides leaders of other political parties.
War of words breaks out between NC, BJP
Farooq on Monday warned the security forces and the government not to interfere in the elections in Jammu and Kashmir and said, “Let people decide whom to vote for. Otherwise, there will be such a storm, which you will not be able to control.” He also threatened to launch an agitation in case such a thing occurred.
BJP state spokesperson Altaf Thakur, however, said that Farooq’s assertions lacked logic. “Gone are the days when the NC would use security forces and official machinery to win polls as it was done in the 1987 elections,” he said, adding that the BJP had been transparent across the country and J&K was no exception.
Farooq also said boycotting the panchayat polls in 2018 was “a huge mistake” and the party must contest every future election in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Omar claimed that only those politicians were now being given full security who were close to the BJP.
Azad congratulates Farooq
President of the Democratic Azad Party and former J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday congratulated Farooq for being re-elected as the NC president.
“I am sure Jammu and Kashmir politics will thrive and expand the democratic space,” he added.
(With inputs from Jammu)
