 Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 18: Senior Congress leaders were restricted from attending today’s meeting of the block presidents of the party which was chaired by the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Tariq Hameed Karra.
PCC chief convened today’s meeting of block presidents to seek feedback from grassroots workers to ascertain reasons for the party’s worst-ever debacle in the recently held Assembly elections in Jammu province.
Highly placed sources said that the decision to restrict senior leaders from attending today’s block presidents’ meeting was taken so that grassroots leaders would freely give their feedback to the PCC chief.
“It was not possible to give feedback about senior leaders in their presence so it was decided that senior leaders would debar from attending today’s meeting”, a source said and added that taking advantage of the absence of senior leaders grassroots workers freely gave their suggestions and lodged complaints against some of the senior leaders who, according to them, are responsible for the situation of the party in Jammu province.
Sources said that some block presidents bluntly told Tariq Hameed Karra that revival of the party was not possible as long as some deadwood were at the helm of the affairs.
“Some block presidents claimed that during the Assembly elections atmosphere was in favour of Congress but it was all due to misdeeds of some senior leaders that the party failed to repeat even its 2014 performance”, sources said and added that PCC chief convened today’s meeting of block presidents to seek feedback from grassroots workers.
The meeting discussed the party's worst-ever debacle in the assembly elections in Jammu province.
Decision to restrict senior leaders from attending the ’ meeting was taken so that grassroots leaders would freely give their feedback.
Some block presidents bluntly told Tariq Hameed Karra that revival of the party was not possible as long as some deadwood remained at the helm of the affairs.
As reported earlier it is the first time in the history of the Congress that the party got only one seat in Jammu province.
Congress is facing an existential crisis after its worst-ever defeat in the recent Assembly elections. This isn’t the first time the party has seen tough times, though - back in the 1996 Assembly elections, Congress secured only seven seats, with wins in Nowshera, Chhamb, Kalakote, and Billawar in Jammu province.
In 2024 Assembly elections Congress won six seats but the party won only Rajouri seat from Jammu province.
Once a dominant force in the region, the party is now struggling with internal conflicts. Grassroots leaders are pointing fingers at senior JKPCC members, accusing them of prioritizing personal and monetary gains over the party’s interests. This infighting is making it harder for the party to bounce back from its recent loss.
The JKPCC’s current president, Tariq Hameed Karra, has his work cut out for him. The party needs to rebuild and reconnect with its base, but that’s easier said than done. With its lowest-ever seat count, the party is facing tough questions about its relevance in Jammu and Kashmir’s politics.
The road to recovery won’t be easy, but the JKPCC has to start somewhere. By tackling these challenges head-on, the party can begin to rebuild and reclaim its spot as a dominant force in Jammu and Kashmir’s politics. | 