National Conference’s ‘rebel’ parliamentarian Aga Ruhullah Mehdi has not only challenged his party’s politics and strategy, but he has also posed moral, political and ideological challenges to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
In the absence of moral and ideological clarity, Omar Abdullah has been pegged back, forcing him to seek help from his close relatives and colleagues, including his father, Farooq Abdullah; bosom friend, Nasir Aslam Wani alias Sogami; and legislators and Rajya Sabha members, to take a dig at Ruhullah Mehdi.
One of the biggest inconvenient truths before the National Conference is that it has lost its appeal and ideological strength. Before the 2024 Assembly elections, Omar Abdullah approached his voters with emotions. He removed his skullcap and asked for a vote and one chance in an emotional tone. At the time, his political messaging appeared candid and unpretentious, if not genuine to the core.
The voters did place their faith in him and his words, and the promises made in the party manifesto, knowing little that Omar Abdullah is a politician, after all. He knows the art of posturing before the elections and arrogance after the elections. Omar Abdullah has no arguments. He has ego and arrogance.
The problem that Ruhullah Mehdi and many others in the National Conference camp have been alluding to seems to be that Omar Abdullah surrounds himself with a bunch of incompetent sycophants. They praise him unnecessarily and, like paid advisors, give him the impression that everything is under control and all is well. But everything is not under control, and all is not well.
In private conversations, many legislators in the party explain how frustrated they are with Omar Abdullah’s leadership style. Even before participating in the 2024 Assembly elections, Omar Abdullah was aware of the altered political landscape of the region. He knew he’d have no power to execute his plans. Yet, he participated in the elections. Yet, he made tall promises. Yet, he decorated his manifesto with adjectives, promises and tall claims.
Now, it seems everything was planned. He first claimed he would not participate in the Assembly elections in a federally administered territory. After taking part in the elections, he said how he would have convinced the voter to vote if he himself stayed away from the process. Later, he claimed he would not be a Chief Minister with powers of a municipality. After becoming the Chief Minister, he said he was chosen as the leader by his legislators and the party’s executive council. He first claimed 200 units of electricity for free without any caveat. Then, he said he meant only the poor and those who would avail of the solar facility. First, he claimed he would abolish the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), ensure the release of political prisoners, fight for constitutional rights, special status and semi-autonomy of the region, and provide 100,000 jobs. Now, he suffers from selective memory and selective amnesia.
On the other hand, Ruhullah Mehdi is holding a mirror up to Omar Abdullah. Mehdi has kept the political narrative around Articles 370 and 35A alive since August 2019, benefiting the National Conference electorally. Instead of engaging with Mehdi, Omar Abdullah is demanding his resignation as a Member of Parliament and as a party member.
In so doing, Omar Abdullah has accepted his moral and ideological defeat!
