Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 16: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today took responsibility for the complete rout of ruling National Conference-Congress coalition in the Parliamentary elections in the State at the hands of opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and said that he will step down as Chief Minister if coalition wants him to.
Omar while addressing a press conference soon after complete rout of NC-Congress alliance in the State said: “It is for me to accept complete and total responsibility for the outcome of this election in the State… to congratulate the victors within the State, both the PDP and the BJP. I hope that they are able to adequately represent the wishes and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in Parliament.”
When asked about his stepping down as Chief Minister in view of the rout, Omar said: “This is Parliament election. This is not an Assembly election. I have accepted the responsibility for the performance of the alliance in the State in this election.”
“Beyond that should I continue or not is a question that I am still grappling with. It is not something that has clear cut answers. I also need to recognize that it is the decision that my party and the allies have to take. I am taking responsibility and I am not shying away from it. It is my defeat more than anybody else’s”, Omar said.
Chief Minister said if National Conference and Congress leadership wanted him to step down, he will have no hesitation to do so.
Omar said while the alliance partners knew that they had a tough fight in the State, but didn’t expect the one-sided results that came up. “While I knew that we had a difficult challenge on our hand, I did not expect this comprehensive, one sided result in the State today. The voters have spoken today and we accept that verdict with all humility,” he said.
Chief Minister said the verdict would obviously have far reaching implications in the State and the party would analyse the debacle. “Exactly, what the implications are it is too early to tell. We haven’t yet been able to analyse the reasons for this verdict but needless to say that there are important lessons to be learnt,” he said.
Omar said that his party focused on national issues rather than local during Parliamentary polls that led to the defeat of the ruling coalition. “Clearly, the way in which we approached this election, the way we made this election more about Parliament than the State is something that has cost us. There were ample positives what we have done over the past five and half years that we could have and should have taken into our election campaign. Obviously we didn’t do that and the results are there for us to see,” he said.
Chief Minister said the defeat in the polls was not the end of his party and they would bounce back. “This is not the end of NC anymore than the defeat of PDP in 2009 was the end of the PDP. The PDP did not become irrelevant because they lost three Parliamentary seats in Kashmir five years ago. In the same way NC will not become irrelevant. It is a serious setback but it is not the end,” he said.
Chief Minister said that it is not impossible for his party to bounce back in the Assembly elections. “It will be extremely difficult. Lot will depend on how objective we are in taking on board the lessons that this election did teach us,” he said.
Omar refused to blame Congress for the poll debacle of National Conference in the Valley, saying the regional party has failed to retain the Assembly constituencies represented by its leaders.
Chief Minister congratulated the BJP and the NDA for its performance in the Parliamentary polls and expressed hope that they will address the aspirations of the people of the State. “I would also congratulate the BJP and NDA at the national level. I hope they will respect the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and do a decent job in addressing those aspirations,” he said.
Omar admitted that Modi was an important factor in the polls but his performance in the Parliament and governance has to be seen. “Those of us who very conveniently sort of wished away the Modi factor in this election have had a rude awakening. Clearly, most observers underestimated the impact he would have on this election. Now what impact he has on Parliament, governance, particularly with regard to Jammu and Kashmir, we will have to wait and see,” he said.
Chief Minister said Article 370 of the constitution cannot be abrogated. “Well good luck to him. He has a majority all of his own in the Parliament. My understanding of the constitution is that Article 370 cannot be revoked without the constituent Assembly recommending it. We don’t have a constituent Assembly so it is an academic question,” he said.
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