Although ex-loyalists of Ghulam Nabi Azad still regard the former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir as their "political mentor", they deserted the recently floated Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) for a better political future.
There is a long list of hardcore supporters of Ghulam Nabi Azad who resigned from the Congress party along with their "boss" to strengthen the DPAP but later returned to the grand old party. The latest in this list are three former legislators namely Abdul Rashid Dar of Sopore, Sham Lal Bhagat of Ramban, and Naresh Gupta of Azad's native town Bhaderwah.
"There are multiple reasons to rejoin Congress as the DPAP will never be an alternative of BJP in Jammu and Kashmir", Naresh Gupta, a former loyalist of Azad told International Bussiness Times after leaving his "political mentor".
"Ghulam Nabi Azad is big leader in Indian politics. I still regard him as my boss but one thing is clear that DPAP will never emerge as a political force", Gupta said and added that ten months after its formation, DPAP is on a disintegration path as many loyalists of Azad have returned to Congress.
Echoing in a similar voice Sham Lal Bhagat, a former legislator from Ramban said that the leadership of DPAP appears to be non-serious in strengthening the party.
"Instead of having faith in his old loyalists, Ghulam Nabi Azad is relying on non-entrants in the party who have no connections on the ground", Bhagat told theInternational Bussiness Times.
Regarding Azad as his political mentor, Bhagat said that serious politicians have no future in the DPAP which, according to him, is hijacked by sycophants who are misguiding the former Chief Minister.
"Being a committed Congressman I was feeling it difficult to work in DPAP so I decided to rejoin the party to serve the people of my area", Bhagat, who was elected as a Member of the Legislative Council with the blessing of Azad, said.
"I am indebted to Ghulam Nabi Azad for giving me an opportunity to serve my people during my tenure as MLC but it was not possible to work in his party", he said.
I was "forced" to rejoin Congress, says another Azad loyalist
Abdul Rashid Dar, another former legislator, and a staunch supporter of Ghulam Nabi Azad, said that he was forced to rejoin the Congress as he was left with no other option.
"I was expelled from the DPAP without any reason so I decided to return to Congress", he said.
DPAP on May 1 this year expelled former Jammu and Kashmir legislator Haji Abdul Rashid from the primary membership of the party for alleged "anti-party" activities.
Rashid, who had won the assembly election in 2014 from the Sopore constituency of north Kashmir's Baramulla district on a Congress ticket, was among the founding members of the DPAP, which was formed by former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in September last year after ending his five-decade-long association with the grand old party.
Over 30 loyalists of Azad already rejoined Congress
Over thirty loyalists of Ghulam Nabi Azad, including two political stalwarts who were expelled from the DPAP had rejoined the Congress party. Former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand along with former J&K Congress chief Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, ex-MLA Thakur Balwan Singh, and others had rejoined the Congress party just before entry of Bharat Jodo Yatra in J&K in January this year.
These leaders had resigned in support of former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who later floated his own party—the Democratic Azad Party, which has now been renamed as Democratic Progressive Azad Party.
Notably, on September 26, 2022, Ghulam Nabi Azad launched a new political party under the name "Democratic Azad Party" in Jammu. He also unveiled the flag of the new party.
Ghulam Nabi Azad snapped his 50-year-long relations with Congress Party on August 26, 2022, terming the party "comprehensively destroyed". He also lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for "demolishing" the party's entire consultative mechanism.
