Since last week’s defeat in Lok Sabha elections NC has stepped on the accelerator to gear up for the upcoming assembly elections. There seems to be urgency in the NC camp to deliver as the countdown for big day has already begun.
But without any proper game plan in place both Omar and his father Farooq Abdullah seems to be making desperate attempts to win back people’s support.
After the poll debacle, where NC failed to even retain its traditional strongholds, the voices from within and outside the party suggested that Omar’s inability to connect with party cadre at the grass-root level proved costly.
Then there are senior faces within the party who have been deliberately sidelined to make way for new and young faces. The only voice that seems to drown all other complaining voices is: only if he would have listened!
Now Omar wants to listen but there is no one left to complain as the mood within the party ranks is depressing to say the least.
But the most important question that arises from NC’s sudden fall is: has Omar failed completely as party head and chief minister? Is it because of his decisions or indecisions that NC was routed in all three seats contested by it in Kashmir? Or were circumstances always against Omar that he could not deliver despite trying his best!
The answer to first two questions is affirmative as Omar has failed to present himself as a tough CM who has power to take decision quickly and get them implemented by bypassing the lengthy bureaucratic route. In his five years of rule he could not take even a single important decision without feeling hiccups. He could not even open his mind or tell people what he thinks or wants to do as a head of the state, leave apart implementing anything. He was always at the mercy of people sitting in New Delhi who dictated terms for him. He was equivalent of Manmohan Singh in Kashmir who worked always under the scanner. There is not even a single instance where Omar stood firm with people for their better. It was always for sake of retaining the highest seat of power. He never actually cared about common men who live miserably under the watchful eyes of police. But after the poll rout he does care. He wants to know, through e-mail, what a common man thinks about him and his party. He desperately wants to connect with the masses and be part of their pains but isn’t it already late!
But if he is sincerely seeking reconciliation with people he has hurt with his inaction or actions during last five years, then, he better start from slain Asia and Nelofer’s house in Shopian. He owes the family more than just sincere apology. Then go to every household that has suffered during his rule. Only then a real connection with the people can be made.
