New Delhi:

When Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah meets Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday, restoration of statehood will not be the only item on the top of the agenda, sources have told NDTV, indicating that the amended Transaction of Business Rules – which have given additional powers to the Lieutenant Governor – will also be a key topic of discussion.

Introduced as part of changes in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, the amendments to the Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) were made in July, two months before the Assembly elections in the Union Territory. They widened some of the powers of the Lieutenant Governor and had attracted criticism from Mr Abdullah at the time as well. 

“Another indicator that elections are around the corner in Jammu and Kashmir. This is why a firm commitment laying out the timeline for restoration of full, undiluted statehood for Jammu and Kashmir is a prerequisite for these elections. The people of J&K deserved better than a powerless, rubber stamp Chief Minister, who will have to beg the Lieutenant Governor to get his/her peon appointed,” Mr Abdullah had been quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Despite stating that he wants good relations with the Centre ahead of his oath ceremony in October, there has been friction between the National Conference leader and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on several occasions. The transfer of some state administrative officers is the latest flashpoint between the two. 

“The friction between the Chief Minister-led administration and the office of Lieutenant Governor is quite evident. Often, important files are delayed and transfers are made without even informing the chief minister. The recent transfer of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officers and extensions given to some others are now the latest point of difference between Mr Abdullah and Mr Sinha,” a source said. 

Some MLAs have also raised concerns with the Chief Minister that most basic public issues have remained unresolved and officers from the JKAS do not pay any heed to their requests.

“Due to business and conduct rules, we have another power centre (lieutenant governor) and this needs to change,” CPM MLA Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami told NDTV. He said this is why he had stated in the Assembly that, “This is a House where the House also does not know what it can or cannot legislate.”

A senior bureaucrat, however, said no one has the right to complain about the TBR unless amendments are made. 

“The Lieutenant Governor was given powers to take decisions as per law and he is doing so,” the bureaucrat said. 

Amendments Soon?

Sources said a draft of an amended TBR, giving more clarity on the distribution of powers, has already been submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

“Once cleared, the business rules will help streamline the governance process in J&K, ensuring greater efficiency and accountability in the administration. The rules will also play a key role in providing a clear legal and operational structure to the governance model, which is expected to be in line with the constitutional changes made in 2019,” the source said, referring to the scrapping of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. 

The power tussle between the Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor has given more ammunition to the National Conference, Congress, PDP and other parties, which have been pushing for the restoration of statehood for J&K. Wednesday’s meeting will be the second  between Mr Abdullah and Amit Shah since the National Conference leader took oath as Chief Minister. 

New Delhi:

At a time when Congress and its allies have raised questions on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and demanded a return to ballot voting, INDIA alliance member National Conference has said one has to be “consistent” in questioning the voting method.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, also the vice-president of Congress ally National Conference, told news agency PTI in an interview that it is wrong to question EVMs only when results don’t meet expectations.

“When you get a hundred plus members of Parliament using the same EVMs, and you celebrate that as sort of a victory for your party, you can’t then a few months later turn around and say… we don’t like these EVMs because now the election results aren’t going the way we would like them to,” Mr Abdullah said. When he was told that his remarks echoed the BJP’s counter to the Congress’s EVM charge, Mr Abdullah said, “God forbid… No, it’s just that… what’s right is right.”

“If you have problems with the EVMs, then you should be consistent in those problems,” he said, adding that parties should not contest polls if they do not trust the voting method.

Citing his example of losing in the Lok Sabha election and scoring a big win in the Assembly polls months later, he said, “One day voters choose you, the next day they don’t. I never blamed the machines.”

In the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls this year, — the first after the Centre revoked its special status and turned it into a Union Territory — the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference posted a stellar show by winning 48 seats in the 95-member Assembly. The Congress, which fought the polls in alliance with National Conference, won six seats.

Mr Abdullah said he spoke on principles instead of partisan loyalty. In another remark at odds with the Congress line, the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister praised the Narendra Modi government for infrastructure projects like the Central Vista.

“Contrary to what everybody else believes, I think that what’s happening with this Central Vista project in Delhi is a damn good thing. I believe constructing a new Parliament building was an excellent idea. We needed a new Parliament building. The old one had outlived its utility,” he said.

Mr Abdullah’s remarks come amid the protest by the Congress and some of its allies against the EVM voting method after its big losses in Haryana and Maharashtra. The BJP has trashed the allegations and pointed to the Opposition’s win in Jharkhand, which voted along with Maharashtra.

The National Conference leader’s statements also come amid rumblings within the INDIA Opposition bloc, with the Trinamool Congress demanding a change at the top and naming its chief Mamata Banerjee as leader of the alliance.

On a question regarding this issue, Mr Abdullah acknowledged that there is disquiet among some INDIA partners as they felt Congress was not doing enough to earn the bloc’s leadership.

“By virtue of being the single largest party in Parliament, and also having the leader of opposition in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the fact that they have a pan-India footprint, which no other party can lay claim to, they are natural sort of leaders of an opposition movement,” he said.

“Yet there is a sense of disquiet among some of the allies because they feel the Congress is “not doing enough to justify it or to earn it or to keep it. That’s something the Congress might wish to consider.” Mr Abdullah praised former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and said described her as a leader of unparalleled stature within the Opposition. “When the INDIA bloc comes together, she plays an important leadership role,” he added.

The National Conference-Congress combine on Tuesday won the Jammu and Kashmir election, where last assembly polls were held a decade earlier, beating exit poll predictions of a hung assembly.

The BJP emerged the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies, improving its all-time high count of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.

The Congress managed to win six seats.

Here’s a full list of winners in Jammu and Kashmir polls:

1. Akhnoor – Mohan Lal, BJP
2. Anantnag – Peerzada Mohammad Syed, Congress
3. Anatnag West – Abdul Majeed Bhat, National Conference
4. Bahu – Vikram Randhawa, BJP
5. Bandipora – Nizam Uddin Bhat, Congress
6. Bani – Rameshwar Singh, Independent
7. Banihal – Sajad Shaheen, National Conference
8. Baramulla – Javid Hassan Baig, National Conference
9. Basohli- Darshan Kumar, BJP
10. Beerwah- Shafi Ahmad Wani, National Conference
11. Bhadarwah – Daleep Singh, BJP
12. Billawar – Satish Kumar Sharma, BJP
13. Bishnah – Rajeev Kumar, BJP
14. Budgam – Omar Abdullah, National Conference
15. Budhal – Javaid Iqbal, National Conference
16. Central Shalteng – Tariq Hameed Karra, Congress
17. Chadoora – Ali Mohammad Dar, National Conference
18. Channapora – Mushtaq Guroo, National Conference
19. Chenani – Balwant Singh Mankotia, BJP
20. Chhamb – Satish Sharma, Independent
21. Chrar-i-Sharief – Advocate Abdul Rahim Rather, National Conference
22. D.H. Pora – Sakeena Masood, National Conference
23. Devsar – Peerzada Feroze Ahamad, National Conference
24. Doda – Mehraj Malik, AAP
25. Doda West – Shakti Raj Parihar, BJP
26. Dooru – Gulam Ahmad Mir, Congress
27. Eidgah – Mubarik Gul, National Conference
28. Ganderbal – Omar Abdullah, National Conference
29. Gulabgarh – Khurshied Ahmed, National Conference
30. Gulmarg – Pirzada Farooq Ahmed Shah, National Conference
31. Gurez – Nazir Ahmad Khan, National Conference
32. Habbakadal – Shamim Firdous, National Conference
33. Handwara – Sajad Gani Lone, Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC)
34. Hazratbal – Salman Sagar, National Conference
35. Hiranagar – Vijay Kumar, BJP
36. Inderwal – Payare Lal Sharma, Independent
37. Jammu East – Yudhvir Sethi, BJP
38. Jammu North – Sham Lal Sharma, BJP
39. Jammu West – Arvind Gupta – BJP
40. Jasrota – Rajiv Jasrotia, BJP
41. Kalakote – Sunderbani – Randhir Singh, BJP
42. Kangan – Mian Mehar Ali, National Conference
43. Karnah – Javaid Ahmad Mirchal, National Conference
44. Kathua – Dr Bharat Bhushan, BJP
45. Khansahib – Saif Ud Din Bhat, National Conference
46. Khanyar – Ali Mohammad Sagar, National Conference
47. Kishtwar – Shagun Parihar, BJP
48. Kokernag – Zafar Ali Khatana, National Conference
49. Kulgam – Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami, CPM
50. Kupwara – Mir Mohammad Fayaz, PDP
51. Lal Chowk – Sheikh Ahsan Ahmed, National Conference
52. Langate – Khursheed Ahmad Shiekh, AIP
53. Lolab – Qaysar Jamshaid Lone, National Conference
54. Marh – Surinder Kumar, BJP
55. Mendhar – Javed Ahmed Rana, National Conference
56. Nagrota – Devender Singh Rana, BJP
57. Nowshera – Surinder Kumar Choudhary, National Conference
58. Padder – Nagseni – Sunil Kumar Sharma, BJP
59. Pahalgam – Altaf Ahmad Wani, National Conference
60. Pampore – Hasnain Masoodi, National Conference
61. Pattan – Javaid Riyaz, National Conference
62. Poonch Haveli – Ajaz Ahmed Jan, National Conference
63. Pulwama – Waheed Ur Rehman Para, PDP
64. R.S. Pura – Jammu South – Dr Narinder Singh Raina, BJP
65. Rafiabad – Javid Ahmad Dar, NAtional Conference
66. Rajouri – Iftkar Ahmed, Congress
67. Rajpora – Ghulam Mohi Uddin Mir, National Conference
68. Ramban – Arjun Singh Raju, National Conference
69. Ramgarh – Dr Devinder Kumar Manyal, BJP
70. Ramnagar – Sunil Bhardwaj, BJP
71. Reasi – Kuldeep Raj Dubey, BJP
72. Samba – Surjeet Singh Slathia, BJP
73. Shangus – Anantnag East – Reyaz Ahmad Khan, National Conference
74. Shopian – Shabir Ahmad Kullay, Independent
75. Shri Mata Vaishno Devi – Baldev Raj Sharma, BJP
76. Sonawari – Hilal Akbar Lone, National Conference
77. Sopore – Irshad Rasool Kar, National Conference
78. Srigufwara – Bijbehara – Bashir Ahmad Shah Veeri, National conference
79. Suchetgarh – Gharu Ram, BJP
80. Surankote – Choudhary Mohammed Akram, Independent
81. Thannamandi – Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, Independent
82. Tral – Rafiq Ahmad Naik, PDP
83. Trehgam – Saifullah Mir, National conference
84. Udhampur East – Ranbir Singh Pathania, BJP
85. Udhampur West – Pawan Kumar Gupta, BJP
86. Uri – Sajjad Shafi, National Conference
87. Vijaypur – Chander Parkash, BJP
88. Wagoora – Kreeri – Irfan Hafiz Lone, Congress
89. Zadibal – Tanvir Sadiq, National Conference
90. Zainapora – Showkat Hussain Ganie, National Conference

New Delhi:

National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah has posted a selfie on vote-counting day in Jammu and Kashmir, one of the two newest Union Territories.

Mr Abdullah is leading in both Budgam and Ganderbal seats, while Iltija Mufti of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is trailing in the Srigufwara-Bijbehara seat, according to initial trends.

The trends so far also indicate the Congress and the NC alliance have crossed the halfway mark with 51 seats in the bag. The Jammu and Kashmir assembly has 90 seats.

“Counting day 7K done. Last time around it didn’t end well for me personally. Insha Allah this time around it will be better,” Mr Abdullah said in a post on X.

Counting day 7K done. Last time around it didn’t end well for me personally. InshaAllah this time around it will be better. pic.twitter.com/TUkjLtVKGn

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 8, 2024

Mr Abdullah told reporters there should be no “fiddling” with the mandate of the people in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Centre and the Raj Bhavan must not indulge in any “machinations”.

“Transparency should be there. Whatever happens should be done in a transparent manner. There should be no fiddling with the peoples’ mandate. If the mandate of the people is against the BJP, then the BJP should not indulge in any ‘jugaad’ (machinations) or something else,” Mr Abdullah told reporters as trends from counting showed the party ahead of the BJP and other rivals.

“The Raj Bhavan and the Centre should accept the decision of the people the way we did in the parliamentary polls,” Mr Abdullah said.

Women speak to each other outside a polling booth during the second phase of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, at a tribal area of Poonch district, J&K.
| Photo Credit: PTI

New Delhi:

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Friday said it is a “good thing” that Jamaat-e-Islami leaders are participating in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir elections but fired a salvo at the banned group. While welcoming their participation into active politics, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said that they would have to explain to the people of the union territory “why so much blood was in their hands”.

“It’s a good thing they are participating. Everyone should participate but the question would be asked why the region suffered for almost 30-40 years and what was achieved by their actions,” Omar Abdullah told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

The National Conference never backed out from participating in elections or being part of the democratic process, he said.

“We suffered because we always spoke about having a relationship with India we never spoke that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir is beyond the Indian constitution. We believe in what (former PM Atal Bihari) Vajpayee Ji used to say – insaniyat (humanity), jamhuriyat (democracy) kashmiriyat (Kashmiri culture),” he added.

He also said people who “brought so much suffering” to the people, who always said Jammu and Kashmir is “not part of India” are now willing to contest Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.

“But the question remains what did the blood bath achieve? So many houses got destroyed, and thousands of lives were lost. Our graveyards are full because of them,” Mr Abdullah said.

Although it would have been better if their ban would have been uplifted and they would have fought on their symbol, he added.

Jamaat cannot take part in the elections due to the ban imposed on it by the Union home ministry. It has not taken part in any elections after 1987.

On Article 370, J&K Elections

Speaking on the BJP’s charge that people came out in more numbers and participated in elections after the abrogation of Article 370, Omar Abdullah said that the two are not connected.

“Due to fear of guns, people were not participating in elections. Otherwise, all our elections before 1990 would not have been conducted. They were all successful,” he told NDTV.

“It’s not right to say that only after the abrogation of Article 370 people participated in elections. The only reason now that participation has increased is because now people with separatist mindset also want to contest elections,” he said.

Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated by the Narendra Modi government on August 5, 2019, and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two UTs – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood are among the National Conference’s 12 guarantees announced in its manifesto for the upcoming polls.

Mr Abdullah also promised the people of Jammu and Kashmir that their identity and their dignity would be restored soon.

“We will restore statehood no matter what. If they do not give it with their blessing, we will go to the Supreme Court and will take it,” he said.

Assembly polls are being held in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370. The polls, which are the first in 10 years, will be held in three phases from September 18 to October 1. The counting of votes will be done on October 4.

On Mehbooba Mufti’s Charge

Omar Abdullah also countered the claim of People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, who said that when they came to power with the BJP, they withdrew 12,000 cases against youngsters.

“What is she talking about? A case was filed against Sarjan Barkati (a cleric) under the PSA (Public Safety Act) by Mehbooba Mufti,” he said.

Mr Abdullah also said that they would remove the PSA from the state book if they came to power.

On Ms Mufti attacking him about their poll alliance with Congress and that there was no agenda between both parties, Mr Abdullah said, “Agenda for alliance or governance alliance only after elections are won. Her former colleague Altaf Bukhari has stated that the PDP and BJP had a relationship before the elections too and it’s only after the elections were over agenda for the alliance took shape. If we also get the opportunity to serve people, we will also come out with such a document,” he said.

On How Kashmir Politics Is Changing 

Omar Abdullah also spoke to NDTV on how politics in Kashmir is changing every day and small parties — which gained traction after 2019 — are slowly withering away like former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s party (Democratic Progressive Azad Party) and Apni Party. 

“I hope he (Mr Azad) gets well soon and gets back to active politics. But as far as his party is concerned, I sympathise with them. If some of them knew such a thing was likely to happen they would have jumped the ship and landed at either Congress or our doorstep,”
he said. 

While commenting on the Apni Party, he said there is a joke in Kashmir “ek pir and chaar mir”. Besides Apni Party chief Altaaf Bukhari, four Mirs are – one each from Tangmarg, Rafiabad, Pahalgam, and Sonawar.

On US Delegation Visiting Him

On meeting a delegation of US diplomats at his Gupkar residence earlier this month, Omar Abdullah said they wanted to know their viewpoint on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

“It’s then when I told them if things are better, then travel advisories should be diluted,” he said.

Mr Abdullah had called for a relook at travel advisories for Jammu and Kashmir to ease restrictions over visiting the union territory.

“I had done the same thing with Germany when I was the chief minister,” he said.

Srinagar:

After its seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress was finalised, National Conference (NC) Monday issued its first list of 18 candidates for the first phase of the three-phased assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

The party in a post on X said the list was approved by NC president Farooq Abdullah.

The party named its former MP from Anantnag, Justice (Retd) Hassnain Masoodi, as its candidate from Pampore and former legislator Mohammad Khalil Bandh from Pulwama.

The NC announced the name of Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din Mir from Rajpora, Showkat Hussain Ganie from Zainpora, Sheikh Mohammad Rafi from Shopian and former minister Sakina Ittoo from DH Pora.

It also named Peerzada Feroze Ahmad from Devsa, Chowdary Zaffer Ahmad from Larnoo, Abdul Majeed Larmi from Anantnag West, Bashir Ahmad Veeri from Bijbehara, Reyaz Ahmad Khan from Anantnag East and Altaf Ahmad Kaloo from Pahalgam. All these seats are in south Kashmir.

For the seats in Jammu region, the NC announced Mehboob Iqbal from Bhaderwah, Khalid Najeeb Soharwardy from Doda, Arjun Singh Raju from Ramban, Sajad Shaheen from Banihal, former minister Sajad Kichloo from Kishtwar and Pooja Thokur from Pader-Nagsani.

After hectic negotiation, the NC and the Congress Monday agreed to contest 51 and 32 seats respectively for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

One seat each has been allotted to the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the allies announced at a joint press conference at the NC president’s residence here after day-long negotiations.

They also said there will be a “friendly contest” on five seats of the Union Territory.

The first phase of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held on September 18, second on September 25 and the third on October 1. Counting of votes will be undertaken on October 4. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jammu:

Three youths were injured in a knife attack incident on Sunday at an election rally of the National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.

The incident happened when the NC chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was present at the venue along with the party candidate.

“There was an election rally by NC in Mendhar area of Poonch district today in which NC president, Dr Farooq Abdullah and party candidate for Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat, Mian Altaf Ahmad were also present. A fight took place between two groups on the sidelines of the rally in which three youths sustained knife injuries,” said officials.

“The injured youths were shifted to a government medical college hospital in Rajouri town for specialised treatment. Doctors have described the condition of one of the injured identified as Suhail Ahmad of Mendhar as serious. The other two injured youths admitted to the hospital have been identified as Yasir Ahmad and Imran Ahmad,” the officials further said.

These two injured youths — Yasir Ahmad and Imran Ahmad — fled from the hospital. The officials said, “They fled the hospitals for unknown reasons.”

A case has been registered in this incident and police have started an investigation.

“No arrests have been made so far in this incident,” the officials said.

Meanwhile, people started protests against the incident in Mendhar Chowk and authorities were trying to pacify the protesters.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

National Conference leaders of the party’s Kargil unit resigned en masse in Ladakh today over the choice of the INDIA block candidate in the region.

The party leaders submitted their resignations to party president Farooq Abdullah after they were allegedly pressured by the party’s high command to support the Congress’s candidate Tsering Namgyal.

The mass resignation came hours after Farooq Abdullah warned party leaders in Kargil of disciplinary action if they failed to abide by the party’s decision to support INDIA block candidate Tsering Namgyal.

“NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah has directed the Kargil unit of the party to support the INDIA bloc candidate – T Namgyal in the Lok Sabha election for the Ladakh seat. He has told his colleagues that failure to follow this directive will be seen as a serious breach of party discipline” the party posted on X.

Congress leaders in Kargil have already raised a banner of revolt against the party over the choice of the candidate.

The rebel leaders of the NC and the Congress have fielded a candidate backed by all the religious and social groups of Kargil.

Behind the controversy is an old political rivalry between Muslim-majority Kargil and Buddhist-majority Leh districts of Ladakh.

As the Congress declared Tsering Namgyal as its official candidate, Congress and NC leaders in Kargil opposed the move and declared Haji Haneefa Jan as their candidate.

Mr Jan is the district president of the National Conference in Kargil and was chosen as a consensus candidate by the local leadership of both the Congress and the NC.

Islamia School and the Khumaini Trust – the two powerful socio-religious institutions of Kargil – backed Mr Jan and ensured no other candidate from Kargil was contesting to avoid a split of votes.

Ladakh will vote on May 20 to elect the lone MP from the Union Territory. These are the first elections in Ladakh since the abrogation of Article 370 split the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Votes will be counted on June 4.