Srinagar, August 8
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is a man in a hurry, running against time to fulfil the promises that he made at the time of assuming office over three years ago. He is also trying to perfect the art of tightrope walk in the state politics.

His sense of urgency comes from the fact that now he has already completed more than half of his six-year term, and has no luxury to sit back and relax. The Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in November-December 2014. There is, however, a talk in the corridors of power that to avert the anti-incumbency factor that may come into play against the UPA government in early 2014, Omar may opt for early elections.

Besides a promise to get the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) revoked before the expiry of his current term, he had also promised good governance, check on corruption, taking democracy to the grass roots level and working for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Holding panchayat elections, constituting state information commission and reviving the state accountability commission are being seen as his success stories. It has been widely acknowledged that the panchayat elections were held in 2011 in the real sense of the term and that the road connectivity has improved a lot.

Despite all this, the record on providing employment to the ever-increasing army of unemployed youth and direct contact with the people are being seen as some of his weak points.

“I don’t do drum beating, I want to work silently and the people will judge us when we go to them.

The panchayat elections should serve as an eye-opener,” Omar maintains.

He is cautious in not claiming that the heaviest rush of the tourists (about a million of them), which generated a lot of economic activity, is the dawn of permanent peace in the Valley. He has asked both India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue, so that the peace becomes permanent.