Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is likely to relinquish his family pocket borough Ganderbal to contest the upcoming Assembly election from Sonawar in capital Srinagar. While the ruling National Conference insiders describe the change of battlefield as poll strategy, their rivals call it exhibition of nervousness and sense of defeat.
The Assembly elections are due in the embattled State in the last quarter of 2014, a few months after the general elections. The ruling party has already begun the poll campaign by announcing candidates for the parliamentary election from three Valley constituencies besides throwing feelers on the Assembly poll wannabes.
Even as Abdullahs are registered as voters in Sonawar constituency, they have nourished Ganderbal as family constituency since 1975. After divorcing Plebiscite Front and rejoining mainstream politics in follow-up to Indira-Abdullah accord that returned Sheikh Abdullah to power with diminished stature of Chief Minister instead of Prime Minister in 1953, he sought election to the State Assembly from this constituency. He won the elections hands down twice while his son Farooq Abdullah retained the fort in three subsequent elections of 1983, 1987 and 1996. However, the constituency spelled doom for Omar Abdullah in 2002, when he was defeated in his maiden attempt to contest for Assembly. A little-known activist of Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) defeated him in the biggest ever upset in State polls.
However, PDP failed to retain the seat in 2008 polls and Omar Abdullah regained the lost glory by defeating Afzal.
But, the continuous erosion in NC’s popularity in the constituency never remained a secret. The ruling party remained divided in many factions.