Omar changes mind, set to contest from Baramulla

His party did not think Srinagar would be a safe seat for him, say sources.

The National Conference leadership in Jammu and Kashmir, during its initial discussions, had decided to field ex Chief Minister Omar Abdullah from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

However, the party’s recent official announcement showed that the party had a change of mind and Omar Abdullah was fielded from Baramulla—the reason being, according to sources, the Srinagar seat was assessed to be unsafe for him.

Party insiders are wary of People’s Democratic Party’s Srinagar candidate, Waheed ur Rahman Para, who they find to have a good grassroots connect. An ex senior PDP leader said, “People feel connected with him. He is smart and intelligent. He knows what he is doing. He has built his ground. He has made a local network. So there would be no clear victory for NC candidate who thinks their cadre can make them win.”

Furthermore, if Omar Abdullah, a source privy to the developments said, loses from Srinagar against the PDP it will create a damaging narrative for the party. Therefore he nominated himself from Baramulla so that even if he loses from that seat he can always say that my defeat against Sajad Lone (who is seen to be a proxy of the BJP) is orchestrated by the ruling dispensation.

A former minister closely connected with the discussions in the meeting said, “There was another thing that emerged in the meeting: the Congress aspirant from Srinagar (ex MP Tariq Hamid Karra) was supposedly unhappy with his party because of the Congress leadership’s failure to negotiate a seat for him in the Kashmir valley. Therefore it was adjudged that Karra might contest independently and that his candidature could threaten Omar Abdullah’s victory.”

However, sources close to Karra suggest that he is not taking any steps to leave the party and contest as an independent candidate. A leader close to Karra said, “Although there are around half a dozen Assembly constituencies in the Srinagar Lok Sabha segment where he has worked hard but that Congress vote may not transfer to NC smoothly. The Congress workers are not willing to work for the NC.”

“Moreover, PDP’s Waheed ur Rehman Parra, who is contesting from Srinagar, is considered to be a strong candidate. PDP would have benefitted from the narrative that only they have been picking up issues but NC despite having had three seats in Parliament they haven’t echoed the voices of people.”

Consequently, the Baramulla constituency, which encompasses the four districts of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora and parts of Budgam, is set for a key contest between the NC and Peoples Conference chief Sajad Gani Lone, the separatist-turned-mainstream politician.