'4x more supporters now': Ghulam Nabi Azad on plans to form new party

Ghulam Nabi Azad has been holding public meetings in Jammu amid his new political pursuit after the exit from the Congress last month.

Published on: Sep 10, 2022, 18:22:43 IST

By HT News Desk | Edited by Swati Bhasin, New Delhi

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Veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is busy in a new political pursuit after quitting the Congress, has said that the number of people coming forward to back him have multiplied since his exit from the grand old party last month. The 73-year-old leader has been holding multiple public meetings weeks after saying that he would be forming a new political party.

Former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad waves at supporters on his arrival at the Jammu airport in Jammu. (File)  (PTI)

On Saturday, speaking to news agency ANI, he said that he “met around 400 people from delegations of 30-35 assembly constituencies in Jammu.” “They gave their support… and they will be a part of whatever party I make,” Azad asserted, adding, “I can safely say that four times more people have come to my support than to the meetings I held in Congress.”

The former union minister, who has also served as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir in the past, had an extremely acrimonious exit from the Congress last month. His departure came as a huge blow to the party, which has been trying to revive its electoral fortunes.

In his five page resignation letter, Azad - who was a part of the Group of 23 leaders seeking urgent reforms in Congress - blamed Rahul Gandhi for the party’s messy state of affairs. The party had reached a point “of no return,” he had added, stressing that while the national political space was given up for the BJP, the regional parties had been allowed to take up the political space in states.

Following Azad's exit, dozens of leaders - especially from J&K - had quit the Congress, backing him.

Last year, the party had seen another high-profile departure when Amarinder Singh had stepped down as Punjab CM, and quit the party. He later formed a new party and contested the state elections with the BJP.

(With inputs from ANI)

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