Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has declined the post of the Jammu and Kashmir chairman of party's campaign committee, citing health reasons, according to numerous reports. This could be a signal of the discontent brewing within the Congress, ahead of polls in the UT.
Vikar Rasool Wani, considered close to Azad—a member of G-23 rebel grouping in the Congress, who called for a systemic overhaul of the party—was appointed the new Jammu and Kashmir unit chief. Wani replaced Ghulam Ahmad Mir, who had tendered his resignation in July after holding the post for eight years. Mir's resignation came on the back of Azad loyalists in J&K creating an open revolt, The Indian Express reported.
According to NDTV, Azad's resignation was predicated on the fact that he saw the new post as a demotion, even while the official reasons differed.
Speaking to ANI, senior Congress leader Ashwini Handa said that the newly constituted campaign committee ignored the aspirations of the party's grassroot workers in J&K. "That is why Ghulam Azad has resigned, as he was unsatisfied with the committee," Handa said. The agency also quoted former party MLA Haji Abdul Rashid Dar as saying that senior leaders weren't consulted before taking decision on J&K PCC chief. "We have resigned from party's coordination committee as protest against recent announcements of PCC chief. I have resigned from Congress' primary membership," he said.
In the revamped unit, Raman Bhalla was named as the working president of J&K Congress, with former PDP leader Tariq Hamid Karra as vice chief of the campaign panel. G.M. Saroori will be its convenor, according to the statement.
According to Congress sources, extensive consultation was held with Azad on formation of the committees. Four rounds of consultations were held with him, the latest being on July 14. A panel of names was given by Azad, out of which the Congress president chose names for the final lists that were announced on Monday.
The Centre will hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir soon and the process of finalisation of electoral rolls is underway after the completion of the delimitation exercise. The Congress president appointed president and working president of the J&K unit and also constituted the campaign committee, political affairs committee, coordination committee, manifesto committee, publicity and publication committee, disciplinary committee and pradesh election committee of the UT unit with immediate effect, the statement said.
The Election Commission had recently revised to November 25 the date of final publication of voters list of Jammu and Kashmir the union territory's first voters' list after the boundaries of assembly seats were redrawn in the delimitation exercise. After the rolls are published, the EC can technically hold assembly polls in the UT. A timeline for the election is yet to be officially declared.
