As the National Conference continued its winning streak in Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah returned from New Delhi late afternoon to do what he does best. Flamboyant yet casual, he hugged his party workers, directed TV crews where to place their cameras and even promised to go for a facelift if people found him “old and ugly”.

Throughout the day, the NC's charismatic patriarch gave every indication that he would not accept the chief ministerial approach and subtly suggested that he would pass on the baton to his son Omar. Even when most of the results were declared, Farooq refused to deem the NC’s performance a victory. “Let’s talk only when all the results are declared,” he said modestly. But he did give signals that he might refuse the chief minister’s berth and stated that he’d rather be referred to as the "former chief minister” and not the National Conference’s chief ministerial candidate.

But those who took his statements at face value were given a jolt this evening, when the ever-unpredictable Farooq did a major U-turn and said, that yes, he would assume power after all.

While the 72-year-old veteran has been chief minister during three spells between 1982 and 2002, his recent reluctance was seen in the context of his somewhat rocky past with the Congress.

The senior Abdullah’s only experience with a coalition Government was the famous Rajiv-Farooq accord that brought the NC to power in 1987 — which proved to be a monumental disaster and contributed substantially to the rise of militancy in the state. Farooq’s stint with the BJP at the Centre was also problematic.

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