Shortly after Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference declared that he would “fight till my death,” a court in Jammu and Kashmir said he will remain president of the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Association or JKAC.
Earlier today, state sports minister Imran Raza Ansari of the People’s Democratic Party was elected president in a process hotly challenged by Mr Abdullah, 77.
Abdullah had said, “The rival group is supported by the Mufti government. All this is being done to target me,” also declaring, “Farooq Abdullah is not so weak that he can be dismantled … I will fight with them till my death.”
Abdullah, a former chief minister and union minister, did not participate in the election held today and Mr Ansari was elected unopposed.
The minister said, “I am the president, the association led by Farooq Abdullah has finished. A majority of the members have voted for me, the election is valid.” He said he was “not aware of a court stay.”
Ansari also dismissed Abdullah’s allegations of political power play. “All the allegations of Mufti’s PDP toppling Farooq Abdullah are baseless. So what if I am a PDP man, Farooq Abdullah also belongs to the National Conference.”
Abdullah’s party had been in power in the state for the last six years till December last year, when the assembly elections threw up a hung verdict. The PDP, led by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, formed government in Jammu and Kashmir after weeks of negotiations, in partnership with the BJP.
Abdullah has had control of the association since 1980 when he first became president. His team in the JKAC was accused of financial irregularities and in 2012 the Board of Control for Cricket in India or BCCI had stopped funding it.
