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| No end to factional war in state Congress, Soz-- Azad groups stick to their stand | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Feb 20: Though Congress High Command is on the move to bring the two warring factions of Pradesh Congress on a single platform by putting up the services of some emissaries, there are no signs that the two factions will be willing to declare truce as both are up in arms for a show down against each other.
The visit of senior AICC leader and Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad to Jammu on Friday and his public announcement ruling out rotational Chief Ministership and calling for total support to Omar Abdullah led Government did not augur well the faction led by PCC chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz.
ITo outwit the Soz group and maintain its supremacy in the State Congress, the faction led by Mr Azad has decided to extend full support to Mr Omer Abdullah and it is opposing the rotational chief ministership to block the chances for Mr Soz to take the reigns of the Government in the event the deal for rotational chief ministership is signed with NC.
According to sources close to Party in case the both partners agree on rotational chiefministership Mr Soz will be the front running contender for the post of Chief Ministership next year after Omar Abdullah completes his three year term ending this year. To frustrate the designs of Mr Soz and his team the Azad factions is tooth and nail opposing the demand and t maintain a constant check on Soz led factions Mr Azad has started visiting the state off and on, sources added.
Sources said on the other hand the faction led by Prof Soz is adamant on its demand on rotational chiefminsitership on the same analogy as was practised during the Congress-PDD coalition from 2002 to 2008. However during that time the Congress besides demanding the rotational chief ministership had also demanded that there there should be chief minister for first three years from Kashmir Valley and for the next three years he should be from Jammu region.
This deal worked and Mr Azad succeeded as Chief Minister to Mufti Mohammed Syed in 2005. But this time there is no such demand from Congress. The Soz faction which is pressing for the rotational chief minsitership is too silent whether the next CM should be from Jammu or Kashmir.
However the sources said that NC too is not willing to accept any such formula of rotational Chief Ministership and the Party does not like to have the basis of NC-Congress alliance on the same pattern on which Congress-PDP had worked previously.
Sources in NC said that Party president and Union Minister for renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah had also made it fully clear that Omar Abdullah Government will continue its full term and he rubbished all statements and speculations in this regard that with the passage of time Congress will more forcefully press its demand on rotational Chiefminsitership.
Sources said NC patriarch Dr Abdullah who is not in good terms with Prof Soz since the former challenged his leadership in nineties by defying the party whip and voting out NDA Government in Lok Sabha will not accept him as the next Chief Minister of the state.
Sources said that as Azad faction is also maintaining an equal distance from Prof Soz as Mr Azad does not want that any one in the Party should play more important role in J&K politics than him, he will utilize all his energy in frustrating the designs of the Soz faction.
However sources said that Prof Soz is trying to seek the support of some senior Congress leaders in Delhi in his bid to take on Mr Azad. Sources said that Prof Soz besides Sushil Kumar Shindey has very good relations with Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithvi Raj Chauhan who was previously incharge of J&K.
Sources said perturbed with the factional feud growing in Congress in J&K the High Command has decided to put the services of some emissaries to bring two factions together. However the developments taking place with the both the factions sticking to their stand shows no indications of truce in the Party and this will have serious repercussions over the fate of coalition in this sensitive state, sources added.
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