| Omar to eat his words like Deve Gowda did? | | In politics, nothing is impossible | | Rustam
JAMMU, July 3: On April 12, 2014, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal - secular (JDS) HD Deve Gowda, declared at a news conference in Shimoga (Karnataka) that he shall leave Karnataka state if BJP candidate Narendra Modi became Prime Minister. Addressing reporters, 81-year-old swore that he shall retire from politics if BJP won 272 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. "BJP will not get majority. Narendra Modi is dreaming on becoming Prime Minister. If this happens, I shall leave Karnataka state and settle somewhere else," he said. Narendra Modi and BJP not only won more than 272 seats, but Modi also took over as Prime Minister on May 26 dislodging the 10-year-old unpopular Congress-led UPA Government. The BJP-led NDA won 336 seats in the 543-member House and the BJP's own tally was 282 - 10 more than the magic figure. Deve Gowda, who crossed the line by saying what he said on April 12, had to eat a humble pie. He did not keep his solemn word. Instead, he went back on his commitments and participated in the Narendra Modi's oath taking ceremony.
On July 1, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the working president of the fast-declining rejected and looked down upon National Conference, like Deve Gowda, crossed the line and held out a categorical commitment that he will quit politics if BJP gets 44 seats in Jammu and Kashmir in the coming Assembly elections. "If the BJP managed to get 44 seats in Jammu and Kashmir independently, I will quit politics, but I don't think the day will come," Omar Abdullah said while talking to media persons on the sidelines of a party function held, in the Kastighar area of Doda district.
Three things were clear from what he told reporters. One, he had taken cognizance of the BJP's Mission 44+. Two, his only contention was that the BJP could not win 44 seats independently and that it will have to depend on others for obtaining an absolute majority in the House. Three, he exposed himself and his political understanding by saying what he said. In politics, nothing is impossible. Anything can happen. After all, it is not the parties but the people who are the chief determinants. Parties can simply contest elections on their respective political planks. Like Omar Abdullah, all the non-NDA political parties had overruled the possibility of the BJP-led NDA winning 272 seats in the Lok Sabha election, but the Indian electorate shocked the leadership of these parties by giving a massive mandate to the BJP and NDA. If the Indian electorate, including the Jammu and Kashmir electorate, could contribute to the grand success of the BJP-led NDA at the national level, the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh could also replicate May in Jammu and Kashmir in the Assembly elections. It is always risky to bet for something that is not in the one's hand. |
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