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| Ailing Farooq arriving in Srinagar to rein in drubbed NC | | Workers, activists want NC Patron to take charge | | Peerzada Ummer
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Mar 9: Notwithstanding ongoing chill, the National Conference patron Dr Farooq Abdulah is coming to Srinagar to take over the reins of the drubbed party which lost most of its seats to PDP during recently held polls.
Sources told The Early Times that Dr Farooq who was undergoing treatment in UK was advised by the medicos not to visit Kashmir especially during the chiling temperatures. "It was the need of an hour that Dr Farooq must step in to save the national conference from extinction. All across the party such demands were raised," says a party insider, wishing not to be named.
Sources disclosed further that the arrival of Dr Farooq in Srinagar is symbolic as after the recently held polls in which the National Conference suffered its worst defeat, the party workers were disgusted with the functioning of the leadership.
If sources are to be believed, Dr Farooq would now take control of the party affairs while relieving Omar to go for a long holiday. "Time has come when Farooq has to rein in the party affairs so that we could come out of oblivion and start functioning as a strong political force of Jammu and Kashmir. Everyone here hopes for change and we believe that our party patron would strengthen the very grass roots of NC which he used to do earlier," party workers told this newspaper.
There was greater discontent within the national conference over the working style of Omar as he used to prefer his friends over the party veterans while ignoring the demands of the activists and workers, reports said.
Dr Farooq's comeback in the political landscape of the state is also important as the new government of BJP and PDP took over while leaving NC squeezed with mere 15 members in the 87 member house.
Party sources revealed that Dr Farooq would straight away at first go to the residence of his cousin Sheikh Nazir and offered last rites near his grave.
He also will hold some close door meetings with the party leaders while demanding an overall change in NC's style of functioning. In a day or two, the NC patron who also served the state as the chief minister will hold detailed meetings with the NC workers and activists.
NC lost what it, in the past, termed as its bastion - Srinagar. Out of eight assembly segments, the party was squeezed to mere three. Rest five seats were taken by the PDP for the first time. The NC workers were from the day one, as per the reports, were pitching to give Srinagar as special attention but Omar undermined such pleas, resulting in the loss of five major turfs.
On August 18, last year Omar Abdullah flew to London for the treatment of his father and National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah, who was ailing.
Dr Abdullah, 78, was in good health for the last few years. After keeping him on dialysis, the doctors had decided for a kidney replacement. Reports suggested that his British wife Molly donated him a kidney.
Son of Sheikh Abdullah, Dr Abdullah was a medical doctor and apparently not interested in politics when his father crowned him as his successor and president of NC on August 21, 1981 soon after he was elected to LS. A year later when Sheikh passed away, Farooq became the Chief Minister. As he allied with the staunch anti-Congress movement across India, Delhi took advantage of the family dispute, purchased loyalties of his lawmakers and installed his brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Shah as CM. With Indira Gandi assassinated, Dr Abdullah allied with Rajiv and became the CM again in 1986.
Though Dr Abdullah became the Chief Minister in 1987 but the rise of militancy led to his resignation in 1990. After six years, Dr Abdullah was Chief Minister again with the massive majority in house. |
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