Willing to contest forthcoming polls, says Shah Faesal

"Yes, I have decided to fight parliamentary elections, but with which party or as an independent candidate remains yet to be decided", he said at press conference.

Faesal, who has been in the limelight since becoming the first Kashmiri to top the civil services exam in 2009, announced his resignation on January 9 through social media to protest the "unabated" killings in Kashmir and the marginalisation of Indian Muslims.

In a brief statement on Facebook, the 35-year-old Faesal, who belongs to 2010 batch of the IAS, said his resignation was also to protest "the marginalisation and invisiblisation of around 200 million Indian Muslims at the hands of Hindutva forces reducing them to second-class citizens; insidious attacks on the special identity of the state and growing culture of intolerance and hate in mainland India in the name of hyper-nationalism".

"I wish to reiterate that voices of reason in this country cannot be muzzled for long and the environment of siege will need to end if we wish to usher in true democracy," he had said.

He ruled out the possibility of joining separatist Hurriyat Conference saying his experience in governance could not be used there.

Faesal said, "I am a man from the system and would be happy to change the system by remaining in it. 

"Since the Hurriyat does not subscribe to electoral politics, there is little scope for me to put my administrative skill and experience into practice by joining the Hurriyat," said Faesal. 

Asked why he cannot float his own party like Imran Khan and Arvind Kejriwal, Faesal said, "I am greatly influenced by the examples set by Imran Khan and Kejriwal, but as you know, we are living in a conflict zone and anybody trying to come forward with a separate party is branded as an agent of the agencies".

Reports here said he met NC Vice President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah, and that in all likelihood he would be joining the NC in the coming days.

Same reports said the party would field him as its candidate from north Kashmir's Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency.