Farooq Abdullah re-elected as National Conference president

Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, has been re-elected as president of the National Conference (NC) for another term on the party founder Sheikh Abdullah’s 117th birth anniversary on Monday.

Flamboyant Abdullah, who represents Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency in the Parliament, was unanimously elected the party’s chief at the NC’s delegate session held near the mausoleum of Sheikh Abdullah at Naseem Bagh, here.

The party general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said only 85-year-old Abdullah’s nomination was received till the last date of filing the nominations. A total of 183 proposals from Kashmir, 396 from Jammu and 25 proposals from Ladakh were received in support of Abdullah, he said.

Also Read — I am NC president till someone is ready to take responsibilities: Farooq Abdullah

The re-election of Abdullah came as a surprise for all political pundits in Jammu and Kashmir as the octogenarian leader had on November 19 announced not to contest for the post.

After getting re-elected the NC president while addressing hundreds of party delegates said boycotting the panchayat polls in 2018 was “a huge mistake” and the party must contest every future election.

“Boycotting the panchayat election was a huge mistake. Remember that we will not boycott any coming election. Instead (we will) contest and win them,” he said.

Referring to his son Omar Abdullah's announcement that he would not contest elections as long as Jammu and Kashmir remained a Union Territory, the senior Abdullah said, "As party president, I am telling you (Omar Abdullah) that you have to contest the election.”

He also warned the security forces and the government not to interfere in elections in J&K and “let people decide whom to vote."

Warning that any interference in the election process will cause “such a storm, which you will not be able to control.”

“We are ready to sacrifice our lives and Farooq Abdullah will be the first to start an agitation over it,” he added.

On September 16 2019, senior Abdullah became the first mainstream politician to be detained under the Public Safety Act. Prior to this, he was under house arrest since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. He was released from house detention under the PSA after seven and a half months on 13 March 2020.

He is facing a case in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the J&K Cricket Association (JKCA). On December 19, 2020, the Enforcement Directorate had attached property worth Rs 11.86 crore belonging to Abdullah.

According to the ED from 2005 to 2011, the JKCA received Rs. 109.78 crore from the BCCI. However, according to the ED, funds to the tune of more than Rs 45 crores were siphoned, which included heavy cash withdrawals of around Rs 25 crores, “with no corresponding justification.