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| Soz sides with his supporters, Azad’s doesn’t, he only uses them | | |
STARK REALITY
RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Feb 2: Union Health Minister and former J&K Chief Minister and JKPCC chief Ghulam Nabi Azad’s bid to demonstrate his public clout in Jammu still seems to be a half way effort. To be fair he has been able to demonstrate that he has significant public support in Jammu. But he has still not been able to demonstrate that he has abandoned dithering to assert his claim to be legitimate leader of the Congress party in the State.
Contrary to expectations, JKPCC chief Saif-ud-Din Soz has succeeded in displaying his clout in the Centre as well as support of a larger section of Congress leadership in Jammu. For a rank outsider, as Soz has been to the Congress organization, this is no small an achievement. Soz has also demonstrated that he has been able to at least make his presence felt in the public constituency in Jammu where Azad still seems to have an edge.
For Azad the undoing is not the fact that the Congress hierarchy chose to side with Soz at a time when he required their support the most. For Congress party, achievements of the local leadership are not as important as their ability to carry forward the agenda of the high command. For Azad, the main failure has been his inability to stand by those who supported him in the Jammu province despite discouragement from all sides, including the established leadership of Jammu. Not long ago Azad had virtually surrendered when he declared that his innings in the State politics was over. For those who organized his show on January 30, the question still looms large whether Azad has the determination to stand up for them, particularly when the vertical split is almost visible in the rank and file of the Congress party. In case of Soz, his supporters have more confidence about his pragmatism to stand by them when they require it.
Azad made his mark as a Chief Minister by demonstrating his liberal outlook and tendency to be balanced in case of allocating developmental initiatives. He was not able to correct the imbalance and many a time went along with the hegemonic forces in the state but he did show a proclivity to correct the imbalance. His secular attitude also did not seem to be just a mask. On this side of Jawahar tunnel, he did raise the hopes that he is not infected by the virus of communal identity politics. But Azad has not been able to generate a confidence that he is not an opportunist who abandoned the state and his colleagues merely to secure a ministerial birth after he was dethroned as the chief Minister of the State.
Azad has also not been able to demonstrate his clout in the Congress hierarchy where he was entrenched for such a long period and had performed successfully as one of the core organizational leaders of the party. His failure to influence decision making in the party high command on Jammu and Kashmir only proved that Soz has been a better communicator and a lobbyist. Such qualities are valued more in the state politics.
Biggest undoing of Azad has, however, been his inability to gel well with those leaders of Congress party in Jammu who had a public base while he was the Chief Minister. Having to stand up to the resistance of the old guard of Congress party his coming closer and promoting grass root leaders in Jammu was a natural choice. But he chose to maintain a distance from such leaders while he was the Chief Minister only giving an impression of his own diffidence and insecurity. After leaving the state for the office in the Centre Azad maintained a stoic distance from all those who had put their foot down only to see him succeed in the state politics.
Azad will have to change his style and attitude if he really wishes to remain relevant in state politics. He will commit the political blunder if he entertains the belief that the people of Jammu are at his back and call. The large gathering that he addressed in Jammu on January 30 should not make him complacent. For, everyone knows who managed the show .
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