Omar Abdullah drops hints on contesting J&K Assembly polls

SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah, who had vowed not to participate in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections till restoration of statehood, Monday dropped major hints on his likely participation in the polls for the Union Territory assembly, saying he cannot expect people to vote for his party if he himself does not accept the legislative body.

Speaking to media after the NC and Congress announced the seat-sharing arrangement, Abdullah said he does not want to send out a “wrong signal” by asking his party colleagues to contest and the people to cast their votes for an assembly “that I may be suggesting that I look down upon”.

“I am conscious of one thing which I had not thought over fully, which is my mistake. If I was not ready to contest election for an assembly, how can I get the people ready to vote for that assembly?

“How can I hope that my colleagues will seek votes for an assembly which I am not ready to accept or may be suggesting that I look down upon? It has put a pressure on me and I do not want to give a wrong signal to the people,” he said.

Abdullah asked the media persons to give him a day or two. “You will get to know when the party releases the list.”

Before the announcement of the polls, the NC leader had vowed not to contest elections for the UT assembly as he had headed a state assembly as chief minister in a unified J&K that included Ladakh.

However, there are speculation that Abdullah might contest from his family bastion of Ganderbal in central Kashmir from where he had won the 2008 assembly polls.

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 the NC vice president said, “I am talking with my colleagues about this.” (PTI)