Polls saw Omar Abdullah's rise as a leader but being CM of JK is no bed of roses

Story by Aasha Khosa | Posted by Aasha Khosa | Date 09-10-2024

Omar Abdullah after his victory

Omar Abdullah’s career as a politician took off at a high pitch – he almost walked into the Parliament of India straight from his drawing room as he effortlessly won the 1998 Lok Sabha election from Srinagar. A business management graduate, the 28-year-old Omar was offered what is a dream job for most people; Atal Bihari Vajpayee made him a Minister of State in his cabinet; first in charge of commerce and trade and later external affairs.

A decade later Omar Abdullah was the Chief Minister of J&K. In this position, he came across as a gentlemanly politician and yet not so efficient. Probably, the volatile Kashmir was too much for the 38-year-old Abdullah to handle.

A 100-day spell of stone pelting left some 100 Kashmiri youths dead and a devastating flood at the end of his term saw his government in limbo. Kashmiris do not have many pleasant memories of his tenure.

However, Omar Abdullah single-handedly campaigned for the National Conference, a party founded by his grandfather in 1932, and made it hit a landslide victory. His aging father Farooq Abdullah, who is prone to making dramatic statements at the drop of a hat, was mostly absent. Omar was in charge of the mission to steer NC into power within months of his defeat in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency.

Omar Abdullah leading NC's election campaign

While campaigning, he interspersed his speeches with Kashmiri, a language he didn't speak at the start of his career. It was an issue with his political rivals back then.

Also, he humbly removed his cap during an election rally to beg for votes, something unheard of in the Kashmiri culture. He even contradicted his father on specific issues in Public.

In light of these turns, it would be no exaggeration to say that this election saw Omar Abdullah coming of age as a leader.

However, Abdullah may have won a comfortable majority in the J&K Assembly and would soon take charge of a peaceful Kashmir where terrorism is down, normalcy is back, and pro-Pakistan elements stand decimated, his challenges have only increased.

His major political challenge will be the seething anger in the Jammu region after the elections. The BJP has swept Jammu to emerge as the second-largest party in the UT; it has bagged the highest vote percentage, even higher than the National Conference. Its supporters are angry at the prospect of their representatives being the opposition while Kashmiri leadership dominates the scene yet another time.

Omar Abdullah with party leaders during the campaigning

Jammu has been an oasis of peace over three decades of violence in Kashmir. It accommodates all the people – Hindus, Muslims, students, businessmen – escaping from Valley’s violence and turmoil.

However, over the years, a demand for delinking Jammu from Kashmir’s “majoritarian politics” has been on the rise. After the election the demand is likely to gain more acceptance and the region could become vulnerable to an eruption of public anger and religious polarization.

At 54 and with three decades of exposure to public life and governance, Omar Abdullah has to manage this.

Pakistan-sponsored terrorism is unlikely to vanish, for the neighbouring country continues to push in armed mercenaries from the International Border in the Jammu region. Though the Army and Security Forces are firmly dealing with it, at times, the counter-terrorism operations tend to clash with the popular mood. Abdullah as the leader of J&K will have to navigate through such tricky situations.

This is a particularly sensitive area since the State has nothing to do with law and order in the new dispensation.

Like all leaders, Omar Abdullah's biggest challenge is to meet the aspirations of the people who have not certainly voted for the restoration of Article 370 but for development, especially tackling unemployment.

Kashmir has lagged in infrastructure development and manufacturing due to three decades of high-level Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and public unrest. It coincided with a boom in the Indian economy and a thrust on manufacturing and foreign investments across the country.

Omar Abdullah with sons Zamir and Zahir during election campaign

No leader worth his salt can change things overnight but as Chief Minister, he has to give hope to the people and do some quick fixes.

Drug addiction and radicalization among the youth is a major challenge facing Kashmiri society and the new government must come up with local solutions to counter these.

Besides, J&K has the highest unemployment rate in the country. In 2017, the unemployment rate for people aged 18–29 in J&K was 24.6%, much higher than the national rate of 13.2% for the same age. Omar Abdullah’s government will have to collaborate with the Narendra Modi government to bring in industries to J&K that can create jobs.

As peace is imperative for businesses to move into an area, the biggest task for Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will be to ensure that the environment in Kashmir is not vitiated by vested interests who are lurking and lying low.

Omar Abdullah can break the tradition by including fresh faces in his cabinet. This is easier said than done because many senior leaders have either been re-elected or in some cases, their children have won the election. This coterie is likely to call the shots unless Omar asserts.

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Can Omar Abdullah, who paraded his two young sons for a possible future role during the campaigning, eschew the Nepo-kids phenomenon to give a new turn to the politics of Kashmir?