JAMMU, Dec 10: All the major political parties, with the sole exception of the ruling National Conference (NC), are in a State of disarray in Jammu and Kashmir even as the way has been cleared for the next Lok Sabha elections.

No wonder then that it is only the NC, led by Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, which has demanded that J&K should go to the polls with the rest of the country. No other party has even reacted to the decision of the Election Commission to defer elections in the State. The Commission had cited climatic and security considerations as the reasons for deferring the elections, but the political leaders here expect the polls for the six seats from the State to take place no later than April.

The NC, which swept the Assembly elections last year, had boycotted the previous Lok Sabha polls held in the State. The Congress had bagged four seats while the BJP and the Janata Dal had secured one each.

Though Abdullah's claim that his party would win all the six seats seems an exaggeration, the present state of the other political parties suggests that the NC could be the biggest gainer if elections are held during the next few months.

``This would be in spite of the rather unsatisfactory report card during the one year of the Farooq Abdullah regime,'' admits an NC leader, who does not want to be quoted. In fact, the failure of the Abdullah Government to revive popular political activity in the State is among the most serious of its shortcomings.

Besides, Abdullah has been busy dashing off to Delhi, generally playing ``powerful satrap'', which has earned him the sobriquet of ``non-resident CM''. His absences are not endearing him to anybody, nor is his return to his old aristocratic habits like inviting princelings and the like for shikaar.

The Abdullah Government can claim credit for containing militant activities in urban areas, but there is no perceptible change in the situation in the villages.

Yet, the NC is much better placed than its rivals in the State. The Congress, which had once ruled J&K, has been without a regular chief or a State executive for the past eight months. The faction-ridden party in the State has been almost dormant ever since it won only eight of the 87 seats in the State Assembly.

The BJP, which had done well in Udhampur in the last elections, is not faring any better. Like in several other States, the BJP unit in Kashmir too saw factional tussles during organisational elections. The new State president, Daya Krishan Kotwal, has not been able to form his executive committee for over a month because of fears that the infighting may spill over into the streets.

Worse is the plight of the State unit of the Janata Dal. The recent change in the State leadership of the party, when the duly elected president Ghulam Qadir Wani was replaced with Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Mohammad Maqbool Dar, has led to an open revolt. Wani has split the party down the middle and has formed his own Jammu &Kashmir Janata Dal.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.