Jolt to Congress as its 5000 workers set to resign in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad

n a major jolt to the Congress party, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, thousands of its workers are set to resign in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad who quit the grand old party recently, according to a DNA report.

Azad’s resignation from the party has left the Congress in a major turmoil. Azad, who was one of the oldest members of the Congress party, has leveled serious allegations on senior party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi. In fact, he went public with a long list of allegations against the Gandhis.

As per news reports, thousands of Congress workers from Jammu and Kashmir and several other states are set to hand over their resignations from the party on Thursday itself, most likely in a show of support to Azad, according to the Hindustan Times.

Azad is not alone as several leaders of G-23 have already expressed angst against the top leadership. Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Prithviraj Chavan were some of the Congress leaders who met with Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday, causing other party leaders to raise questions about their loyalty to the party and the Gandhi family.

Various party leaders also conceded in private that Azad’s resignation ahead of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls is a major blow to the party. Notably the Jammu and Kashmir elections are also set to take place in 2023, and with Azad’s exit, the party might find itself in a tough spot, according to DNA.

However, it is said Azad’s exit from the Congress will make little change on the ground. While several Congress leaders in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir are of the view that the development in Delhi will not make any impact in the region. On the other hand, Azad’s bête noire and former president of the JKPCC Ghulam Ahmed Mir said, “For the past 30 years, the factionalism in J&K Congress was all due to Azad. While sitting at the national level and holding key positions, he used to run his J&K agenda via a chunk of people. With his exit, I think in J&K there will be purification of the Congress. Now, true Congressmen will stay back and those who run after individuals will side with him,” he said, according to HT.

For example, senior party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s recent meeting with Azad sparked a row in Haryana Congress. Hooda’s meeting with Azad became controversial as the latter left the party openly criticising Rahul Gandhi and his leadership, calling him “childish” and “immature”, reported the paper.

Congress leader Kumari Selja has said the move by Hooda confuses and disheartens the party rank and file. While speaking to PTI, she said, “I have said that Hooda going there and meeting Mr Azad when he has left the party, blamed the leadership and even made personal comments against our leaders, disheartens the party rank and file and also confuses them.”