Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is set to launch a major membership drive and announce his roadmap for Jammu and Kashmir during his tour of the Union Territory (UT) that is starting on September 4, as dozens of Congress leaders on Tuesday switched sides.
Prominent faces of the Congress from the Jammu region — including former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, former legislators Abdul Majid Wani, Manohar Lal Sharma, Gharu Ram and Balwant Singh — formally announced their departure from the Congress on Tuesday.
The party has witnessed a major exodus since Mr. Azad’s resignation. Earlier, two prominent faces from the Kashmir valley, Shohaib Lone and Taj Mohiuddin, hinted at joining Azad’s camp. Two Congress national leaders, from the dissident G-23 group, may also accompany Mr. Azad during his first rally in Jammu on September 4, sources said.
“It was surprising to see that even before Azad sahib launched a new party, top Congress leaders are joining and many more will join in coming days. We have been approached by leaders from other parties too,” Salman Nizami, a close aide of Azad, told The Hindu.
Dozens of elected members have also joined the Azad camp. “Several sarpanches, elected District Development Council members and Congress district presidents have resigned from the party and are joining us,” Mr. Nizami said.
Sources said several leaders from the Valley’s smaller parties, like the J&K Apni Party and Peoples Conference, are also in touch with Azad and were mulling to join “only after Azad announces his roadmap on September 4 in Jammu”.
J&K unit of the Congress in Kashmir valley has been reduced to three prominent faces — Vikar Rasool, Tariq Hameed Karra and Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed. In the Chenab valley, Mr. Azad has managed to rope in two influential leaders, G.M. Saroori and Majid Wani, so far.
A unifying effort
Sources said Mr. Azad will start a membership drive from Jammu district on September 4. He will also visit the Chenab Valley, the Kashmir valley and the Pir Panjal valley after that. He is likely to announce the party name only after holding public meetings in these regions.
Ahead of his J&K visit, Mr. Azad, in a message, said, “I am happy to see people and political leadership across the length and breadth of Jammu and Kashmir coming to us with heartfelt wishes and a very strong desire to make a new beginning.”
Mr. Nizami said the new party would be a unifying force. “Together – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and others – we will usher in a new era of development and peace in J&K. We have suffered enough. It is time to pull our socks up & hold hands in this march to rebuild what we have lost. Come join Ghulam Nabi Azad sahib for a ‘Better J&K’,” he vouched.
Mr. Azad, 73, has served as J&K Chief Minister in the past. “People want to see Azad as the next Chief Minister. He hopefully will talk about the roadmap that will dispel the rumours about him being in tow with the BJP. In fact, it was the Congress that played as BJP’s ‘B’ during the elections in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh,” Mr. Nizami said.
