National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that he expects Prime Minister Narendra Modi to live up to the promise of restoring the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, The Hindu reported.
The former chief minister’s statement came after his party, in alliance with the Congress, won the Assembly elections in the Union territory on Tuesday. While the National Conference won 42 out of the 90 seats, the Congress clinched six. Their ally, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), won one seat.
Omar Abdullah himself won the Budgam and Ganderbal constituencies.
This was the first Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir in 10 years, and also the first since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019. Article 370 gave special status to the erstwhile state. The Centre at the time also bifurcated the state into two Union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
After his party’s victory, Omar Abdullah said in an interview to The Hindu that he was looking forward to the Union government’s hand-holding to ensure the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
“I expect the prime minister to be an honourable man and live up to the promise of restoring statehood,” said the vice-president of the National Conference. “Nowhere he said on the floor of the parliament that first there should be a BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government in J&K and then only statehood would be restored.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party won 29 seats in the Jammu region, but none in the Kashmir valley.
In December, the Supreme Court in its verdict on petitions challenging the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 had directed the Union government to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood “at the earliest and as soon as possible”.
The court had set September 2024 as the deadline for the Election Commission to conduct elections for the Legislative Assembly that is to be restored in Jammu and Kashmir.
Modi had said during the Lok Sabha election campaign that the statehood of the Union territory will be restored soon. He reiterated the promise during the Assembly polls campaign.
It was time for Modi to be “magnanimous” as the people of Jammu and Kashmir had spoken, Omar Abdullah told the newspaper.
Also read: The BJP lost, but it will be hard to ignore in Jammu and Kashmir
The National Conference leader also said that Jammu and Kashmir’s next chief minister should work towards building a healthy relationship with the Centre and the Union territory’s lieutenant governor.
“Once the government is in place, I would expect the chief minister to travel to Delhi soon and meet the prime minister and the home minister and other important ministers,” he said.
Omar Abdullah will become the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, his father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah shortly after the results were announced on Tuesday. The party has, however, not made an announcement.
Omar Abdullah said that Jammu and Kashmir had “far too many problems” to just “play politics” for the next five years.
“The incoming government must have a healthy relationship with the Government of India,” he said, adding that he hoped that the Centre had the same sentiment and recognised that the Union territory was at a crucial juncture.
Omar Abdullah also noted that there was a need for “some relationship-building with the Raj Bhawan”.
“Some repair needs to be done,” he said. “J&K will not benefit with the L-G [Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha] having an antagonistic approach toward elected government.”
The administration of the Union territory, with no Assembly in place, has been managed by the lieutenant governor since 2019.
Also read: Why new J&K government will be stunted – no matter who wins
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