On October 8, crackers lit up the skies above 40-Gupkar Road, the residence of the Abdullahs, in Srinagar. The National Conference (NC), led by Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah, had just won a decisive mandate in the legislative election, surprising both the party and its opponents. The NC won 42 out of the 51 seats it contested in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. The stage is now set for Mr. Omar, the 54-year-old scion of the Abdullah clan, to take over the reins of J&K. If the post-victory responses are an indicator, the celebrations are evidently mixed with a sense of foreboding, and for a reason.
Unlike the swearing-in ceremony of 2009, in the chilly winter of Jammu, Mr. Omar’s second term as Chief Minister comes in the backdrop of different weather conditions, politically and historically. J&K is no more the same geographically and institutionally. The erstwhile State was split into two Union Territories (UT) of J&K and Ladakh in 2019, and its 72 years of special constitutional status under Article 370 and 35A was scrapped. Mr. Omar will be treading a tightrope, between addressing the expectations of the public and not crossing the red lines of the Centre.
Mr. Omar will be the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of J&K, taking over after a gap of 10 years since the last election. His election to the top post has generated hope among the public that there would be a new beginning in J&K, after years of turmoil. However, it remains to be seen if New Delhi squeezes or expands the space for Mr. Omar’s government to function and deliver on critical issues, especially governance.
Mr. Omar, who holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai, and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, had worked with ITC and The Oberoi Group till he joined politics in 1998, when he became a Member of Parliament at the age of 28. He became the youngest Union Minister in India’s history at the age of 29 by serving as Commerce and Industry Minister in the National Democratic Alliance government. At the age of 38, Mr. Omar became the youngest CM of J&K.
However, his political journey has not been free of challenges. He lost the Assembly election of 2002 to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the family’s bastion, Ganderbal, which had been with the Abdullahs for three generations, starting from party founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. In 2009, as Chief Minister, Mr. Omar took a moral stand and offered to resign in the wake of disclosures in a 2006 sex scandal case, but it was not accepted by the then-J&K Governor. He faced a street storm over alleged rape and murder of two women from Shopian in 2009, a cycle of civilian killings in street protests in 2010 and months of street protests in 2013 over the hanging of Parliament attack-convict Afzal Guru.
The unprecedented floods of 2014, which left most parts of the Valley submerged and residents helpless, acted as the last nail in the coffin of his government. In the 2014 election, the NC won just 15 seats, its lowest ever mark. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, he was defeated by Sheikh Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid who contested from prison, by over 2 lakh votes.
Changes in J&K
However, what changed Mr. Omar and reshaped his politics were not the setbacks of 2014 and 2024, but the events of 2019.
The Abdullahs, who supported J&K’s accession into the Union of India in 1947, saw the State being split into two UTs and all special powers the party tried to safeguard all these years being diluted. Mr. Omar was shifted to a sub-jail on the Gupkar Road in 2019, just the night before the Centre ended J&K’s special status on August 5, and booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a law that deals with preventive detention. He had to spend his 50th birthday inside the jail. His release, after 232 days, brought to the fore dramatic images of Mr. Omar with a flowing beard. Many of his colleagues said the jail changed Mr. Omar forever. He later talked about how brisk walks and music helped him maintain sanity inside the prison.
The government dossier against Mr. Omar suggested that “his ideology is favouring radical thoughts, which he has also turned into actions… Despite being a mainstream leader, he has been planning and projecting his activities against the Union of India under the guise of politics and while enjoying the support of gullible masses, he has been successful in execution of such activities”. It claimed that Mr. Omar issued many provocative and instigating comments and ideas against the decision of the Union of India over the abrogation of Article 370.
The dossier against Mr. Omar was in stark contrast to the praises many politicians across the political divide showered on him over the years. His parliamentary interventions, which emphasised India’s unity in diversity, had captured the imagination of the people. For example, in a speech in the Lok Sabha in 2008, he said: “I am a Muslim, and I am an Indian. I see no distinction between the two. I see no reason why I, as a Muslim, have to fear a deal between India and the United States of America.” Mr. Omar was referring to the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal.
Today, he is again at the pulpit of politics in J&K. Yet, he is expected to be one of the weakest Chief Ministers the region has ever seen, given the diluted executive powers.
During the election campaign, the National Conference had made tall promises to the voters, including restoration of Article 370, release of political prisoners and encouraging dialogue between India and Pakistan. Mr. Omar’s hands are now full and it’s not going to be an easy ride, with the Centre remaining bitterly antagonistic towards the Abdullahs.
Rebuilding institutions
Mr. Omar also faces the challenge of rebuilding the weakened institutions such as the J&K Waqf Board, the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, the J&K State Board, etc. J&K also remains a Union Territory without a permanent capital after the Lieutenant Governor’s administration formally ended shifting of capitals, locally called ‘Darbar Move’, between Jammu and Srinagar. Mr. Omar will have to make sure that Jammu does not feel left out as he delivers on governance issues.
Burdened under his own pledges, Mr. Omar has sought a humble beginning by reaching out to the Centre. “We will need to have a healthy working relationship with the Centre and the Raj Bhavan. J&K will not benefit from an antagonistic approach. This region has far too many problems to just play politics for the next five years. I hope the Union government has the same sentiment and recognises the fact that J&K is at a crucial stage currently,” he said.
Besides being an astute and suave politician, there is a lighter side to Mr. Omar. He’s a health freak and hardly misses his run at the J&K Royal Springs Golf Course. He hits the gym regularly. He loves to play video games, and in a recent interview, he suggested that ‘Call of Duty’ was one of his favourites. Indeed, there is a call of duty for a bigger cause ahead of Omar Abdullah. As he sets out to make history as the first CM of J&K after the abrogation of Article 370, all eyes are on him.
Published – October 13, 2024 01:03 am IST
