'Have lot more active politics ahead of me': Farooq Abdullah withdraws his name from Presidential race

In a statement posted by his party, Abdullah thanked the opposition leaders for offering his name as their candidate for the polls next month, saying he was honoured that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee put out his name as a possible united opposition candidate.

Farooq Abdullah, chairman of the National Conference, withdrew his name from consideration as the united opposition candidate for the presidential election on Saturday, saying he would rather help navigate Jammu & Kashmir, which is "at a crucial crossroads."

In a statement posted by his party, Abdullah thanked the opposition leaders for offering his name as their candidate for the polls next month, saying he was honoured that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee put out his name as a possible united opposition candidate. He, however, thanked the opposition leaders for proposing his name as their candidate for the polls next month.

The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir stated that he believes he has "a lot more active politics ahead of me and look forward to make a constructive contribution in the service of JK and the country."

"As a result, I respectfully withdraw my name from consideration and look forward to supporting the unified opposition consensus candidate," the NC statement added, thanking Banerjee and other senior leaders who had given their support.

After NCP supremo Sharad Pawar rejected to be the unified opposition candidate for the Presidential elections, Farooq Abdullah's name was circulated. Apart from him, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi's name was considered for the July elections.