Srinagar: Unfazed by National Conference's (NC) defeat in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, its president and Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah on October 10 said he would resign from the Vajpayee government but continuance of his party in the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) was an open question.

"I will resign from the NDA ministry once Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee returns from abroad," Omar, who lost to PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) candidate Qazi Mohammad Afzal from Ganderbal seat, told reporters.

To a question about the continuance of National Conference in the NDA, he said, "We will not be part of the government any more but remaining in the alliance is still an open question."

There will be self-introspection and we will try to figure out where things went wrong, he said.

Omar said he had accepted the defeat gracefully and would start afresh and bring new life into the party.

Asked about the reasons for the party's humiliating defeat, he said "lot of this has to be answered by the MLAs and senior leaders of the party who were in power for last six years."

He said unavailability of the MLAs and ministers to the people had cost the party dearly.

Congratulating Afzal for his victory from Ganderbal, the 32-year-old NC president said he would continue working for the people of the state.

PTI