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| Azad emerging as key player | | |
Former J&K chief minister and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has intensified his political activities and seems to be emerging as one the key players in the next phase of J&K politics.
All his loyalists have sent their resignations to the Congress leadership and have joined Azad in his campaign. The Congress Party had described the resignations sent by Azad loyalists as indiscipline and a committee has been formed to look into the issue. The leaders who are supporting Azad want the Congress high command to hand over the reins of J&K Congress to Azad but it seems they are asking for too much.
The Congress high command is yet to mend fences with Azad, who raised a banner of revolt in the party last year. Azad and senior Congress leaders had written to party interim chief Sonia Gandhi to reorganize the party and hold elections for the new party president. After the letter was sent, party leadership sidelined all the signatories of the letter. The senior leaders were relieved of their party posts and since then no effort has been made to improve the relations with them.
Speculations are rife that if the Congress high command continues to ignore Azad, he may float his own party in Jammu and Kashmir and for that he has already started the groundwork.
There is every possibility that assembly elections will be held in J&K after the Delimitation Commission submits its report. Without Azad Congress may prove ineffective in J&K. Azad has a strong support base in Pir Panjal and Cehnab Valley regions. If he floats his own party and says goodbye to Congress he can challenge any party in the region. The Congress high command needs to rethink its strategy vis-à-vis Azad. He has always been an asset for the “Grand Old Party” of the country. Sidelining him won’t help the party’s cause and that too when it’s grappling with a number of issues from all the sides.
For the time being Azad is busy with campaigning and is carrying forward the public outreach programme. He has signaled his return to J&K politics with or without his parent party building bridges with him.
Azad is among one of the very influential leaders in J&K and if he decides to become a part of the new brand of politics in Jammu and Kashmir, he can challenge anyone. |
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