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J&K: 2 ex-ministers among 4 leaders part ways with Azad, join Cong
They joined Congress at a function organised to mark the 108th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Former ministers, including Jugal Kishore Sharma and Abdul Majeed Wani, besides two former members of legislative council (MLCs) Subhash Chander Gupta and Brij Mohan Sharma, on Wednesday returned to Congress, in a setback setback for Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).
They joined Congress at a function organised to mark the 108th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The leaders were warmly welcomed into the party fold by national general secretary and Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Syed Naseer Hussain, J&K Pradesh Congress committee president Tariq Hameed Karra and AICC general secretary G A Mir.
These four Azad loyalists had quit the Congress in 2022 to join DPAP.
Jugal Kishore Sharma and Abdul Majeed Wani had unsuccessfully contested the last assembly elections from the Vaishno Devi and Doda segments, respectively.
Sharma was a minister in the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led PDP-Congress government from 2000 to 2005 and in the Azad-led Congress-PDP government from 2005 to 2008. Wani was also inducted as a minister in the Azad-led government.
“Congress is the only party which believes in secularism and gives its leaders freedom to speak their mind. Congress does not do religion-based politics,” Sharma said in his speech after joining the party.
Without naming BJP, he said that “other party is seeking votes in the name of religion, which we do not endorse. Religion is purely a personal thing, and every one should have freedom to follow their own religion,” he said.
Senior DPAP leader Salman Nizami reacted to the leaders Congress, calling them “deadwood”, noting that some had left the party, contested independently and were still using Ghulam Nabi Azad’s name but they had lost by large margins at the last year’s assembly elections.
He added that former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had told these leaders to go anywhere, as he did not want the burden of such leaders again.
Nizami said Congress, weakened in many states, including J&K, cannot expect revival by relying on these “deadwood” leaders. He also noted that Congress lacks a strong face in J&K.
“Since Azad’s departure, Congress has lost eight assembly elections and a Lok Sabha election,” he said.
Nizami praised Azad as a national leader with significant contributions, emphasising that the people of J&K did not fully understand his vision, a mistake they now regret.
He added that Azad will visit J&K soon, after which future strategy will be decided.
