Srinagar, Dec. 6 -- Dr. Farooq Abdullah was on Monday re-elected unopposed to head National Conference (NC) as its president.

Pertinently, the octogenarian leader had two weeks back announced that he would not run for another term, but today he had an explanation for it, when he said though he wanted to step aside and let the younger leadership run the party, he was persuaded to continue as "we are passing through a very difficult phase".

Abdullah, who has served as NC president for nearly three decades after being elected first in 1981, was again elected the party's chief at the NC's delegate session held here after party leaders offered prayers at the mausoleum of NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah at Naseem Bagh in Hazratbal on his ...