 Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 30: Even as the ruling National Conference passed seven resolutions during its two-day Working Committee meeting, the party's high-powered decision-making body chose to maintain a guarded silence on the future of its rebel Lok Sabha member, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi. In the official statement issued after the meeting, the party did not mention a single word about Mehdi, who was not invited to attend the Working Committee session.
By omitting the name of the rebel MP, the National Conference has sent a clear signal that it is not inclined to give much importance to a Member of Parliament who has raised a banner of revolt against the party.
Sources in the National Conference said the party is not planning to take any disciplinary action against the rebel MP. “Instead of taking action against him, the party will force Ruhullah to quit the National Conference so that fresh elections can be held for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat,” sources said, adding, “any action from the party’s side would allow the rebel MP to retain his membership.”
It is important to mention here that after the historic defeat of National Conference (NC) candidate Aga Syed Mahmood Al-Masovi from the Budgam Assembly seat, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stated that by allowing the PDP candidate, Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi, to win the Budgam bypoll, Ruhullah had committed “political suicide.”
Quoting the phrase, “You cut your nose to spite your face,” Omar Abdullah said that senior NC leader Aga Ruhullah had “damaged himself politically” by distancing himself from the Budgam by-election campaign. He said the move was intended to send a message to the party but ended up hurting Ruhullah more than anyone else.
Omar said, “Ruhullah committed political suicide just to give me a message, but this step will prove disastrous for him.”
“Ruhullah should remember that the person who has won from there will never allow him to rise again in Budgam,” he added.
The Chief Minister noted that Ruhullah’s political revival in Budgam would now depend entirely on his ability to regain lost ground.
“Only Ruhullah can decide whether he will rise again in Budgam or not,” Omar said. “Whatever happened, happened.”
Omar acknowledged that the NC had anticipated a difficult contest even before campaigning began.
“In Budgam, people do not vote only on work,” he said. “There is a significant section that does not vote on issues at all. Many voters make their choice quietly, behind the curtain. So I already knew it wouldn’t be easy for us.”
He added that the final outcome was shaped by a mix of silent votes, internal dissatisfaction, and shifting political sentiment.
“We accept the verdict and move forward,” the Chief Minister said.
As reported earlier, Ruhullah said on Thursday that he had no information about the meeting and confirmed that he was not invited.
“If the Working Committee meeting is going on, I am a permanent member of it. This is the first time since 2002 that I have not been invited,” he said, describing the development as unprecedented in his more than two-decade-long association with the committee. |
