Srinagar, Oct 26 (NationPress) – The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, announced on Sunday that he would step down from his position if statehood is not reinstated within a specified timeframe.

In a discussion with NDTV, Omar Abdullah expressed that his resignation as Chief Minister would be inevitable if statehood is not restored.

This declaration is significant for several reasons, particularly following allegations of cross-voting during the recent Rajya Sabha elections, where the National Conference (NC) secured four seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed one.

The BJP's unexpected win of the fourth seat has taken Omar Abdullah and his party by surprise, especially since he had confidently stated that the NC would triumph in all four contests.

He stated that no NC MLA defied the party directive and that all supported the four NC candidates: Mohammad Ramzan Chowdhary, Sajad Kichloo, Shami Oberoi, and Imran Nabi Dar.

Imran Nabi Dar fell short against the BJP’s J&K president Sat Sharma in the contest for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat. Omar Abdullah has accused MLAs from other parties of publicly endorsing the NC while ultimately voting for the BJP candidate.

The BJP candidate received 32 votes, whereas the NC candidate garnered 22 votes for the fourth seat.

The BJP had 28 votes of its own for that seat, and Omar Abdullah, along with other leaders, is now keen to discover which four MLAs cast their ballots for the BJP.

The NC was relying on the backing of six Congress MLAs, one CPI(M) MLA, five Independents, one member of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), and one from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the fourth seat.

Sajad Lone, leader of Peoples Conference (PC) and MLA from Handwara, had opted out of the Rajya Sabha elections, but post-results, he stirred controversy by claiming the NC had 'gifted' seven MLAs to the BJP in a 'fixed match' to secure the BJP's win.

Omar Abdullah responded to Sajad Lone’s remarks, stating that he should refrain from imparting political lessons after abstaining from voting.

In the upcoming 2024 Assembly elections, the NC secured 42 seats, the BJP 29, the Congress 6, the PDP 3, CPI(M) 1, AIP 1, PC 1, AAP 1, with 6 Independents also winning. One of the Independents subsequently joined the NC, while the Congress chose to support the NC from outside without formally joining the government.

In the 90-member Legislative Assembly, a simple majority of 46 seats is required to form the government. Currently, two seats in Nagrota and Budgam are vacant, as they will be contested in by-elections on November 11.

On its own, the NC holds 42 seats (including the independent who joined later), along with support from one CPI(M) MLA and six Congress MLAs.

AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, who is currently detained, initially backed the NC government but later rescinded his support.

A political discourse is ongoing in J&K regarding whether Omar Abdullah's recent statement about resigning if statehood is not restored soon stems from a genuine commitment to NC's statehood restoration or a fear that future political dynamics could disrupt the numbers in the J&K assembly. The revelations may soon surface.