Mountains to Climb

Omar Abdullah knows too well that winning the J&K elections is only the first hurdle.

- Naseer Ganai

THE headquarters of the National Conference (NC) in Srinagar bore a sombre look on October 8-there were no crackers, drumbeats or sweets. It didn't seem like the wining party's office. NC spokesperson Ifra Jan came to the office in the morning, when the NC was leading in over 40 constituencies, but declined to comment. The party's vice-president, Omar Abdullah, had told workers to neither engage with the media nor indulge in unnecessary celebrations. The chief minister-in-waiting of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) knows the burden of this victory and what lies ahead for the region.

Salman Sagar is one of the NC's rising young leaders and its youth wing president. When he and his father-senior party leader Ali Mohammad Sagar-arrived at the party's headquarters, there was little fanfare. This, despite the fact that both had won from their respective constituenciesSalman from Hazratbal and Ali Mohammad from Khanyar in Srinagar. "We were confident that the people would place their faith in us, and we are happy to see that we have won with a substantial majority," says Salman. He described the election verdict as a rejection of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that the people had voted against both the BJP and its proxies in J&K. "The people of Kashmir have clearly demonstrated that they reject the imposition of these proxies and the BJP's policy of fragmentation."

It is certainly a stupendous win for the NC, especially for Omar Abdullah. The people of the Union Territory, especially in Kashmir Valley, have spoken, loud and clear: they did not want a fragmented verdict. Though many have larger concerns like the restoration of Article 370, their immediate worries are more real. "I don't know about Article 370, but I am hopeful that the government will provide 200 MW of free power supply as a priority once we take over," says Mohammad Sadiq, an NC supporter.