Omar rejects delay call, says it helps BJP in J&K

For many voters in Jammu and Kashmir, the question is painfully simple. Will their vote create a government, or another waiting room?

That worry sharpened before counting day, after Omar Abdullah warned that any delay in government formation could suit the BJP. His point was blunt. If the BJP cannot form a government, it may prefer extended central control through the Lieutenant Governor.

This is not just political fencing before results. In Jammu and Kashmir, power itself has a special meaning now. Since the region lost statehood in 2019, an elected assembly does not carry the same weight it once did.

Omar warns against delay

Omar Abdullah reacted sharply to appeals from some leaders who wanted parties to delay government formation. Their argument was that such a delay could pressure the Centre to restore statehood first.

Omar called that a mistake. He said such a move would only help the BJP, which would gain from keeping central rule alive.

He was responding to Engineer Abdul Rashid, the Baramulla MP and Awami Ittehad Party chief. Rashid had asked non-BJP parties to unite around one demand, statehood before government.

On paper, that sounds like hard bargaining. In practice, Omar suggested, it may leave the field open for the Centre.

That is the heart of the dispute. Should elected representatives first take office, even with limited powers? Or should they refuse to move until Delhi restores full statehood?

For ordinary voters, the difference is not academic. A government, even a weak one, gives people someone to question. Central rule often pushes accountability further away.

Statehood remains the real prize

Rashid’s argument rests on a real concern. The next government in Jammu and Kashmir will not enjoy the powers of a full state government.

The Lieutenant Governor still holds wide authority. Police, public order, and key administrative levers remain tied to the Centre.

That means a chief minister may win the election, but still face a tight cage. This is why Rashid urged parties to delay government formation.

He argued that the new assembly would have limited strength without statehood. He also criticised the wider opposition for not doing enough on Article 370.

His message was aimed at the National Conference, Congress, PDP, People’s Conference, and his own rivals in the Valley. He wanted them to make statehood the first condition.

But politics rarely gives clean choices. If parties delay forming a government, the Centre may not rush to restore statehood. It may simply continue with the current arrangement.

That is Omar’s warning. A boycott or delay may feel principled, but it can also remove elected leaders from the table.

Alliance maths before counting

The election results were due on Tuesday after three phases of polling. Exit polls had placed the National Conference-Congress alliance ahead.

That made every remark before counting politically loaded. Farooq Abdullah, Omar’s father and National Conference president, had said the party could take support from the PDP if needed.

Omar quickly cooled that talk. He said no support had been offered, and nobody yet knew the voters’ final decision.

That was a sensible line. In a hung assembly, parties often speak too early and regret it later. In Jammu and Kashmir, the risks are even higher.

Every signal can shift bargaining power. Every public statement can harden positions. Every coalition rumour can unsettle voters who just stood in line to make a choice.

The National Conference has fought this election with Congress as a pre-poll partner. The PDP, once a dominant player in Kashmir politics, now faces a tougher field.

The BJP, meanwhile, has focused heavily on Jammu and its post-2019 pitch. Its larger argument is that central decisions brought order, investment, and integration.

Its critics say the same period shrank political voice and weakened local control. That divide shaped the election from the first day.

Why voters feel the stakes

For a shopkeeper in Srinagar, a contractor in Jammu, or a young graduate looking for work, this fight is not just constitutional.

It affects who clears files, who answers complaints, and who can be blamed when promises fail. It affects jobs, tenders, local projects, and police decisions.

When power sits with elected leaders, voters can punish them. When power sits with an unelected office, anger travels a longer route.

That is why government formation matters, even if the assembly has limited powers. A weak elected government still changes the daily grammar of politics.

It brings ministers back into the public eye. It forces parties to defend budgets, roads, hiring, schools, hospitals, and business policy.

For businesses too, uncertainty has a cost. Investors dislike unclear chains of command. Small traders dislike sudden rules and distant approvals.

Jammu and Kashmir’s economy needs tourism, construction, horticulture, services, and small industry to move together. Political drift slows all of that.

A government cannot fix everything overnight. But delay can freeze decisions that affect workers and families quickly.

The Centre question will not fade

Omar Abdullah’s larger point is that statehood and government formation should not become competing goals. His camp wants an elected government first, then a political fight for statehood.

Rashid and others want the order reversed. They fear that once a government takes office, Delhi may slow-walk the statehood question.

Both arguments carry weight. One focuses on immediate representation. The other focuses on full power and dignity.

The Centre has said statehood will return at an appropriate time. But that phrase has done a lot of work without giving voters a date.

That is why this election carries a second ballot beneath the first. People voted for candidates, but also for the shape of power itself.

If the National Conference-Congress alliance gets a clear lead, pressure will shift to Delhi. If the result is fragmented, the Lieutenant Governor’s role may become even more important.

Either way, Jammu and Kashmir is entering a delicate week. The voters have done their part. Now the parties must decide whether they want power, pressure, or both.

The danger is that ordinary people get trapped between slogans and strategy. They asked for a government they can see, question, and remove. That simple democratic demand should not become another file waiting in Delhi.