Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) Vice-President and newly-elected MLA, Omar Abdullah, on Wednesday expressed his gratitude towards the people of J&K for their electoral mandate, emphasising the significance of the responsibility entrusted to him and his party.

In his first public statement post-election, Omar stated, “I am humbled by the verdict of the people, humbled by the mandate that the people have given. I am also acutely aware of the responsibility that this mandate places upon us.”

Abdullah assured that the incoming government would strive to bring a sense of ownership to every individual in the region.

“The people of J&K have voted, they made their voices heard. They want to be part of the process of governance, to feel involved in decision-making, and it is our responsibility to carry them along,” he said while speaking to reporters in Srinagar.

Abdullah emphasised that it would not be a government exclusively for those who voted for the JKNC or its allies.

“The Government that comes in in the next few days will not be that of the NC, of the alliance, of those that voted for us. It will be a government for every individual of J&K, regardless of who they voted for or whether they voted at all,” he stated.

On the process of forming the government, Omar Abdullah said that the alliance’s Legislative Party Meeting would be held soon to finalise leadership decisions.

“There will be an alliance meeting to determine the leader of the alliance. That leader will take letters of support, go to Raj Bhavan, stake the claim, and request the LG to fix a date for the swearing-in. I would like that to happen as soon as possible because we have been without an elected government since 2018,” he stated.

Restoration of statehood will be priority

The J&KNC leader further outlined that advocating for the restoration of J&K’s statehood will be the new government’s top priority.

“My own suggestion to the incoming government would be that the first business of the cabinet should be to pass a resolution asking for statehood to be restored to J&K. The CM should travel to Delhi with that resolution, call on the senior leadership of the country, and ask them to fulfill their promise,” he suggested.

Position on Article 370 remains unchanged

Omar Abdullah reaffirmed his party’s stance will not change on Article 370, stating that the issue remained alive, even though expectations of reversing its revocation by the current government were unrealistic.

“We never said that we would be silent on the issue of Article 370 or that it is not an issue for us anymore. But we are not ready to fool people. Expecting to get it back from those who scrapped it is foolishness. But we will keep this issue alive,” he remarked.

The NC-Congress won 49 of J&K’s 90 elected Assembly seats, with the BJP claiming 29 and the PDP of Mehbooba Mufti managing only three seats.