Another Congress rebellion? 'Disgruntled' Azad quits key post within hours
In yet another 'rebellion' within the Indian National Congress (INC), senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quit a key party post, hours after his appointment on Tuesday. Azad was named as the leader of the party's campaign committee in Jammu and Kashmir but he soon stepped down. The veteran leader has also resigned from the Congress's J&K political affairs committee, signaling trouble for the party.
Why does this story matter?
INC has lately been under the radar for internal rebellions and the resignation of key leaders, such as Kapil Sibal and Sunil Jakhar. Azad, a member since 1980, is also part of a 'dissenter' group of Congress leaders critical of the party leadership (G-23). The J&K leader retired from Rajya Sabha last year but was not re-nominated by the Congress.
Why did Azad resign?
INC Chief Sonia Gandhi had appointed Azad as the party's campaign committee chief in J&K but he declined the offer due to 'health' reasons. According to NDTV, Azad saw the appointment as a demotion as he is a member of INC's all-India political affairs committee. However, he supposedly resigned because of dissatisfaction with the newly constituted campaign committee, says INC's Ashwani Handa.
Cracks within INC's J&K unit?
Azad's resignation signals internal strife. As part of a revamp, INC appointed Vikar Rasool Wani and Raman Bhalla as J&K unit president and working president, respectively. Azad, appointed as campaign chief, resigned hours after the public announcement of the revamp. Wani is replacing Ghulam Ahmed Mir who resigned from the post in July, but his appointment has revealed the cracks in the state unit.
'Senior leaders not consulted prior to appointing unit chief'
Azad reportedly feels the new committee ignores the aspirations of grassroots workers. Speaking to Hindustan Times, ex-Congress MLA Haji Abdul Rashid Dar said that senior leaders were not consulted before appointing unit chiefs. "We have resigned from the party's coordination committee as a protest against recent announcements of the PCC chief. I have resigned from Congress primary membership," he said.
Azad cites 'health reasons'
Who else has resigned?
Apart from Azad and Dar, Gulzar Wani also resigned from the Pradesh election committee. "I have resigned...as protest against the recent appointment of PCC chief in UT. The decision isn't in favor of the party," he said, as per News18. In a bid for assembly elections in J&K, INC has also constituted a political affairs committee, coordination committee, and manifesto committee, among others.
J&K may undergo elections soon
Elections will be held in J&K after electoral rolls are finalized and the delimitation exercise is completed. While the Centre is keen to conduct elections as soon as possible, there is concern among experts that the above-mentioned exercises might not get completed this year. Recently, the Election Commission revised the date of the final publication of voters' list to November 25.
