Farooq Abdullah won’t fight Lok Sabha election, says Omar

Srinagar, April 3

National Conference president and sitting MP from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah would not contest the Lok Sabha polls owing to his heath, the party said on Wednesday.

The announcement was made by his son and NC vice president Omar Abdullah at a party function in Rawalpora on the outskirts of the city here.

“He (Farooq Abdullah) has taken permission from (party’s general secretary) (Ali Mohammad) Sagar and other party members to not contest the polls this time because of his health,” Omar Abdullah said.

He said it is now the party’s responsibility to field the best candidate from the constituency. He hoped that the voters would help the NC candidate succeed so that he/she becomes a voice of the people of Srinagar in Delhi.

Farooq Abdullah was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002 from Jammu and Kashmir and then re-elected in 2009. He resigned from the Rajya Sabha in May 2009 and won a seat in the Lok Sabha from Srinagar. — Agencies