J&K elections done, focus now shifts to restoring statehood. Will Omar Abdullah succeed?

Jammu and Kashmir, which held its first Assembly election in 10 years, has given its verdict. It picked the National Conference-Congress alliance. The two parties together won 49 out of 90 seats in the Union Territory. With the NC securing 42 out of the 56 seats it contested, there’s a likelihood that Omar Abdullah will be chief minister. And hours after winning, it was clear that restoring statehood would be the top priority.

Omar Abdullah’s vision for J&K

On Tuesday,
Omar Abdullah won both the constituencies in central Kashmir that he contested – Budgam and Ganderbal. This marks a solid comeback for the NC leader, who lost the Lok Sabha election in the Baramullah seat.

While campaigning ahead of the Assembly election, the former J&K CM humbly urged voters for a “chance to serve”. They have listened.

If NC chief Farooq Abdullah is to be believed, his son Omar is also set to become chief minister. “Omar Abdullah will be the chief minister,” the senior Abdullah told the media when asked who would be the alliance’s CM face.

Reacting to the remarks, Omar said that the decision would be taken by the allies together. He, of course, remains the top contender for the post. And he has already spoken about what is on top of his mind.

The NC vice president said that he would expect the next J&K CM to meet the PM and other leaders in Delhi to emphasise that “the mandate of the people of J&K was for the restoration of statehood, for development and peace”, reports The Indian Express.

The regional party portrayed itself as the key opposition to the saffron party in the election. It was after all the BJP-led Centre which was responsible for J&K losing its statehood and becoming a Union Territory after the
abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

However, Omar wants to put it all behind him and is hoping that the new J&K government will have a good working relationship with the Centre.

Looks like the NC leader has already started the groundwork. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi complimented his party’s “commendable performance” in the J&K polls, Omar said that he was looking forward to a “constructive relationship” with the Centre so that the people of J&K would benefit from “continued development and good governance”.

In interviews with the media after Tuesday’s win, Omar said that both PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are “honourable men” and the restoration of J&K statehood as promised by them “should happen at the earliest”.

“Nowhere has BJP ever said… first there will be our govt and then statehood. The PM never said that. People of J&K have spoken and I hope the PM will now be magnanimous and restore statehood at the earliest,” he said, according to a report in The Times of India, referring to a promise by the BJP on the floor of the Parliament and through their representative in the Supreme Court.

Congress’ statehood promise

Restoring statehood in J&K was the key poll promise of the
NC-Congress coalition. The Grand Old Party also spoke in the same language as its ally. On Tuesday, Congress said that restoration of statehood without be a top priority.

Talking to the media at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, General Secretary Jairam Ramesh and Media and Publicity Chief Pawan Khera said that the coalition government’s top priority would be J&K’s statehood. The alliance will provide a “responsible, responsive, accountable and transparent government,” they promised.

The BJP’s stand

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been speaking about statehood. Days after winning the third term, he said during a visit to Srinagar in June this year, “That day is not far either when Jammu and Kashmir can decide its own future as a state.”

He once again spoke about it at an election rally in Srinagar while campaigning for the election. “We promised in Parliament that we will restore J&K’s statehood and the BJP will fulfil this commitment.”

When Jammu and Kashmir lost its special status in 2019, it was bifurcated into two territories.
Amit Shah had promised the restoration of statehood and since then it’s what the people have been waiting for.

Scrapping of Article 370 and statehood began a hot-button topic in the Union Territory during the polls as the demand for a rollback grew.

Now that the polls are over, the question is what would be Centre’s next move. Will the promise of statehood be put on the back burner now that the BJP has lost the election? Ram Madhav, who was the BJP in charge of the Union Territory, had some answers.

He said the party was committed to return to statehood “on the floor of the House”. Talking to NDTV he added that he was in favour of the UT getting statehood sooner rather than later. But said conditions applied.

“Jammu Kashmir has travelled a lot of distance in the last 5 to 10 years. It gave up its terror-based identity, it is a very peaceful state in terms of separatism… even Jamaat has joined the electoral process. That is a very big achievement. But those in power in the state should be reassuring the people in Delhi that they won’t bring those tendencies back into this region. Then full statehood is possible,” he told the channel.

Restoring statehood could be a longer process and there’s a possibility it could be done in a phased manner, going by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s statement during the 2023 hearings on Article 370 petitions in the Supreme Court, reports Hindustan Times.

The Supreme Court deadline

The matter has also gone to the Supreme Court. In December last year, the apex court, while setting a 30 September deadline for the Election Commission to conduct this election, said that steps should be taken to restore statehood in J&K.

In a landmark ruling, a five-judge Bench, comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant, approved the government’s decision to end special status to J&K.

In three separate but concurring judgements, it also ordered the restoration of statehood “at the earliest”.

Challenges before the NC-Congress govt

The recent elections were the first held by Jammu and Kashmir after it became a Union Territory. The new government will face administrative challenges as Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha enjoys certain powers including the control of the J&K police, the transfer and posting of government officers, and matters of security and finance.

It remains to be seen if the new government will be able to function smoothly with the LG or if it will be at loggerheads like in Delhi. That’s not all. To pass some laws like ones related to security in the Assembly, it will need the nod of the Centre until statehood is restored.

The NC-Congress government then depends a lot on the LG and the Centre to get work done. It’s unlikely to be a smooth ride for Omar & Co.