| Jammu and Kashmir National Conference | |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Farooq Abdullah (1981-2002 & 2009-till present) |
| Founded | June 11, 1939 |
| Headquarters | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Ideology | Kashmiri nationalism Moderate separatism Pro-India Re-unification of Kashmir |
| Seats in Lok Sabha | 4 |
| Seats in Rajya Sabha | 2 |
| Election symbol | |
| Website | |
| http://www.jknc.in/ | |
| Politics of India Political parties Elections |
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The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is a State political party in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Led at the time of Indian Independence in 1947 by Sheikh Abdullah, it dominated electoral politics in the state for many decades. It has been led subsequently by the Sheikh's son Farooq Abdullah(1981-2002)his son Omar Abdullah(2002-2009) and in 2009 Farooq Abdullah was again made the President of JKNC.
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In October, 1932, Sheikh Abdullah founded the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference. On June 11, 1939 it was renamed as the All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference. The National Conference was affiliated to the All India States Peoples Conference and in 1947 Sheikh Abdullah was elected president of it. In 1946, the National Conference launched an intensive agitation against the state government. It was directed against the Maharaja. The slogan of the agitation was "Quit Kashmir".
In the elections held in September, 1951, National Conference won all 75 seats of the Constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah remained the prime minister till his arrest on August 9. 1953 on the grounds of conspiracy against the state of India, as he began to openly express views in support of Kashmiri independence from India. In 1953 Sheikh Abdullah was dismissed and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad became the Prime minister of the state.
In 1965 the National Conference became the Jammu and Kashmir branch of the Indian National Congress. Sheikh Abdullah was again arrested in 1965 until 1968 due to his pro-independence stances that were termed as conspiracy against the state. Sheikh Abdullah's splinter Plebiscite Front faction later appropriated the name of the original party when Abdullah returned to power in February 1975. In 1977, National Conference led by him won the state assembly elections, and Sheikh Abdullah became the chief minister. His son, Farooq Abdullah succeeded him as the Chief Minister on his death on September 8, 1982. In June, 1983 elections, the JKNC led by Farooq Abdullah again won a comfortable majority. In July, 1984 Farooq's brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Shah split the party. Acting on the behest of the central government, the Governor, Jagmohan dismissed Farooq as a Chief Minister and installed Ghulam Mohammad Shah in his place. His government was dismissed in March, 1986 and President's rule was imposed. In 1987 state assembly elections, the JKNC, which formed an alliance with the Congress Party won the majority and Farooq again became the Chief Minister. But he was dismissed again in 1990 by the Union Government led by Vishwanath Pratap Singh and President's rule was imposed in the state.[1] In Jammu and Kashmir state assembly elections in 1996, the National Conference led by Farooq made another political comeback by winning 57 seats out of total 87. But, in 2002 state assembly elections, it won only 28 seats. In December, 2008 state assembly elections no single party was able to get the majority. The JKNC led by Farooq's son Omar Abdullah emerged as a single largest party, winning 28 seats. After the elections, on December 30, 2008 the JKNC formed an alliance with the Congress Party, which won 17 seats.[2] Omar Abdullah became the Chief Minister of this coalition government on January 5, 2009.[3]