Omar Abdullah’s Many U-Turns

“I have been the CM of the (once) most empowered state. I cannot see myself in a position where I would have to ask the LG for appointing my peon. It is as simple as that.” These words, spoken by Omar Abdullah, Vice-President of the National Conference, before the Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections, seemed unequivocal. Abdullah had vowed not to fight for a seat in the legislature of a union territory.

However, one month later, Abdullah contested from two seats, Budgam and Ganderbal, and won both. He is now set to become the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory.

Abdullah defended his U-turn, saying, “We are fighting a new fight, and the assembly has its own role. Should I tell my people to vote for an assembly that I myself don’t accept?” Addressing party workers in Ganderbal, Omar added that while the assembly is not as powerful as it once was, it can be made stronger.

However, this is not Abdullah’s first U-turn in the past few months. During the election period, he declared that the J&K assembly, in its “first order of business”, will pass a resolution against the centre’s decision to strip the region of its statehood and special status.” This is also explicitly mentioned in NC’s manifesto.

Yet, within hours of his party securing a majority in the assembly, Abdullah made a complete 180-degree turn on Article 370, stating that hoping for restoration from the people who took it away would be “foolish.”

He clarified that they would keep this issue alive and hoped that one day, the government would change, the Prime Minister would change, and there would be a government with whom they could discuss it.

While the opposition has criticised Abdullah’s “goodbye” to the fight for Article 370, this abrupt U-turn has made locals sceptical about the NC’s other promises.

Nazia, a 23-year-old from Srinagar, expressed her frustration, “Did Omar Abdullah not know these promises were impossible to keep when he made them?” She believes Abdullah’s U-turn proved once again that NC will never keep its promises.

Nazia says the same logic may now be applied to their other major promises, such as repealing the Public Safety Act (PSA), releasing political prisoners, and providing 200 units of free electricity, as such laws would also require the centre’s approval.

“Omar Abdullah was surely aware of the challenges and obstacles in restoring Article 370 before the elections,” says Ahmad Ayaz, a political analyst and national TV debater based in Srinagar. “He leveraged the sentiment around it to appeal to emotions and gain votes.”

Ayaz warns that any U-turn “will give the opposition and public a chance to hold it against the National Conference, potentially damaging Abdullah’s credibility among voters who gave NC a massive mandate.” However, Ayaz adds, “It also depends on how successfully NC can deliver on other promises listed in its manifesto.”

It should be acknowledged that the latest U-turn is not new for the National Conference, which has a long history of backtracking on its commitments. A fight for the restoration of Article 370 is just an addition to the list of unfulfilled poll promises that have languished for decades. 

After the 2010 violence in the Valley, which resulted in a four-month shutdown, Omar Abdullah, then the chief minister, began advocating for the amendment/withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which grants extensive powers to the armed forces.

During the crisis, Omar faced intense criticism for the brutal crackdown of protestors, which killed around 120 people. Fast forward fourteen years, and the AFSPA remains in place, with its repeal again being touted as one of the party’s significant promises.

In June 2000, his father and the then-Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah’s government passed the autonomy resolution to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s pre-1953 constitutional position. However, the central government rejected it. Flying in the face of their rhetoric on autonomy, the National Conference remained an ally of the BJP-led NDA government, with Omar Abdullah serving as Minister of State. Two decades later, autonomy resolution has re-emerged as a key promise in NC’s manifesto.

The party’s history of backtracking dates back to its founder, Sheikh Abdullah, who endorsed the Plebiscite Front, a 22-year people’s movement for a referendum marked by violence and arrests. However, it was disbanded in 1975 when Sheikh signed an accord with the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. The agreement enabled his return to power but was widely criticised as a “historic betrayal.”

Like others in the Valley, Omar ran his whole election campaign on the “anti-BJP” narrative. He now says PM Modi is an “honourable man” and J&K will not benefit from an “antagonistic relationship” with the BJP-led central government.