LOP Sunil Sharma drops political bomb: Who is the new Eknath Shinde in the National Conference from which CM Omar feels threatened? MLA Thanamandi threatens to go on hunger strike

LOP Sunil Sharma drops political bomb: Who is the new Eknath Shinde in the National Conference from which CM Omar feels threatened? MLA Thanamandi threatens to go on hunger strike

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH: The other day, LOP Sunil Sharma dropped a political bomb by saying that another Eknath Shinde is in the making in the National Conference and, along with his supporters, he will leave the National Conference and form another group that will force the Omar Abdullah government to fall whenever the ruling party goes ahead with the planned cabinet expansion.

LOP Sunil Sharma’s statement has created ripples in the NC camp, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah refuting the claims of LOP Sunil Sharma by saying that there is no Eknath Shinde in the National Conference and the present government will complete its full term. At the same time, delaying cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and NC patron Dr Farooq Abdullah hinted that NC top leaders are suffering from internal fears that some high-level planning is going on to destabilise the government, as the independent MLA Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, who represents the Thanamandi constituency and supported the NC government, gave a tough statement about maximum NC MLAs not getting their due share; instead, the Nowshera constituency is getting everything. He gave an inside picture of NC which hinted that all is not well in NC. He also threatened to go on a hunger strike against the injustice. Playing on the front foot, only NC MP Aga Ruhullah Mehndi has been seen mostly speaking against the NC government on the plea that the Omar-led government has failed to come up to the expectations of the people. Aga said that the promises made by the NC leaders during the election campaign have not been fulfilled. The young NC MP has been seen frequently targeting the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, but branding him indirectly as another Eknath Shinde in the making by some BJP leaders doesn’t make any sense. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is a seasoned politician who is known for his nationalist credentials. He is the only political leader who single-handedly brought down Udhav Thackeray’s government in Maharashtra through a covert operation, but thinking of another Eknath Shinde in the making cannot be a reality in J&K because no leader in the National Conference has the capacity to play the role that Eknath Shinde played to the utter surprise of all. The way some BJP leaders are frequently saying that the NC government will fall on its own because the majority of seasoned NC leaders have not been given a cabinet berth and there is huge resentment in the National Conference. Are BJP leaders shooting in the air without any target to politically destabilise the NC? But Dr Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah are seasoned politicians, and they know how to tackle heavy political moves. The way LOP Sunil Sharma has hinted about another Eknath Shinde in the making in NC through his statement a few days ago shows that his statement seems to have no merit because, going by the individual profiles of maximum NC leaders, nobody has the capacity to play the role of Eknath Shinde unless backed by some very powerful forces. However, there is another side of the story. On the one hand, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has categorically rejected the statement of LOP Sunil Sharma about the presence of Eknath Shinde in the National Conference, while on the other hand, Omar has decided not to go with the planned cabinet expansion, showing that the NC top leadership is on tenterhooks about the party’s internal affairs, and accordingly, all-out efforts are going on to fetch more time for letting the things come under control first, said sources close to the NC camp while talking to “POONCH TODAY”. One more aspect which cannot be ignored is that whatever top BJP leaders say always comes true sooner or later because the majority of BJP leaders are experts in keeping things close to their chests. This is the sole reason that maximum policies of the BJP never leaked anywhere, as the saffron brigade conducts every operation in a clandestine manner. Now, only time will tell who is speaking the truth, LOP Sunil Sharma or Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. However, it’s a challenging task for the young Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to ensure that his government complete its full term, despite all-out attacks against the NC government, from within and outside the party, especially from the opposition BJP.