National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has said he will vacate his Assembly seat for son Omar after the restoration of statehood, suggesting his comeback to state politics could be temporary.

Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti will not contest the Assembly elections until statehood is restored.

The Election Commission on Friday announced three-phase polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the first in a decade.

Last week, Farooq said he was contesting Assembly elections in the absence of his son. He had last contested the Assembly polls in 1996.

Although Farooq is the president of the National Conference, it is Omar who calls the shots and it is not clear whether he is in favour of his father contesting polls. If Farooq contests and his party wins, he will be the chief ministerial face.

Farooq seems to be putting the speculation that he was sidelining his son to rest.

“Is there any doubt (about him contesting polls)? I will contest. But I will vacate the seat for Omar sahab after statehood is restored,” Farooq told reporters in Jammu.

The National Conference president said he was confident that full statehood would be restored.

“Statehood means full statehood. We are not Delhi. We are Jammu and Kashmir. Do you (BJP) want to snatch our honour? Do Dogras, Kashmiris, Paharais and Gujjars (different groups in Jammu and Kashmir) have no honour?” he said.

Farooq said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should answer whether he would like Gujarat, his home state, to be shorn of statehood and all powers.

The Modi-led government had in 2019 scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into two Union territories.

On whether the National Conference would ally with other parties, Farooq said he was in favour of going solo. “I want to see where we stand. But I will leave it to the party to make a decision,” he said.

He said the state needs to have good relations with the Centre to progress.

Farooq has a long history of making sacrifices for his son. As part of a family understanding in 2002, Farooq had left the state turf to his son but the party, Omar included, suffered a humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections that year.