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| Lal Singh's absence makes no impact, crowds swell to see Azad | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Mar 25: Despite Member Parliament (MP) Choudhary Lal Singh preferring to stay out, ex-Chief Minister and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad managed to attract huge crowds in Kathua.
According to reliable sources, Azad stunned Lal Singh supporters who had gathered in various corners to witness the impact of Singh's absence from the scene. The rally took them with surprise as the numbers kept swelling with each passing minute with both National Conference (NC) and Congress workers joining the rally. Congress workers outnumbered NC workers despite the fact that National Conference (NC) flags were far more in number.
If one of his close aides is to be believed, Lal Singh and his aides had not anticipated crowd number crossing 20, 000. A sulking Choudhary Lal Singh, according to his close aides is in New Delhi, pleading with high command for an assignment outside the state. They added that he has conveyed to his close friends and supporters to decide according to their own conscience the future course of action.
"Choudhary wants to remain out of this election. He has gone to plead with Sonia Gandhi to assign him some other state in the country for campaigning since his presence would mean Congress blaming him for Azad's defeat and if he wins, the same coterie would accuse him of not working for party," added the aide.
Lal Singh left for New Delhi on Monday evening and would be returning in a day or two to proceed for assignment which he would be given after his meeting with the high command, which until yesterday according to insiders was Ghulam Nabi Azad for Choudhary Lal Singh. They further said that Azad had made last ditch effort to convince Lal Singh not to revolt and instead, campaign wholeheartedly for him in various parts of Doda-Udhampur-Kathua constituency.
However, Lal Singh who had already used public platforms in various parts of Jammu region to claim that he was the candidate of Congress for Doda-Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, was stunned and shocked at AICC's decision to field Ghulam Nabi Azad. Sources further said that what shocked Lal Singh was that entire Congress leadership from erstwhile District Doda camped in New Delhi, pleading with AICC to replace Lal Singh with ex-Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Earlier, Union Minister and Congress nominee Ghulam Nabi Azad today filed his nomination from Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency in the presence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and President JKPCC Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz (MP). Azad filed nomination papers before returning Officer Jatinder Singh here today at Kathua.
He was accompanied by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and PCC President Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz-MP and a large number of senior leaders including Ministers and Legislators amidst thousands of supporters who had gathered at Kathua and along sides enroute at different locations from Samba to Kathua.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and PCC President Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz left for Kathua at around 10:30 a.m. and were received by a large number of enthusiastic Congress and NC workers and people enroute at different locations amidst raising slogans and carrying Congress and NC flags in their hands.
A large number of senior leaders of both Congress and NC were present including several Ministers Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Ghulam Hassan Mir, Taj Mohiuddin, Ajay Sadhotra, Sham Lal Sharma, Rigzin Jora, MOS Manohar Lal, Vikar Rasool; Devinder Singh Rana-Provincial President NC, Surjeet Singh Salathia, Ravinder Sharma-MLC, Subash Gupta-MLC and R.S. Chib Ex-Minister. |
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