Amid a spree of resignations by loyalists of Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Congress high-command has started an aggressive campaign to keep its flock together in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
While party leaders on Saturday tried to put up a brave face by seeking to downplay the resignations of senior leaders in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad, the party high command has asked Rajya Sabha member Rajni Patil to contact loyalists of Azad in J&K to convince stop from deserting the party.
Rajni Patil is the All India Congress Committee (AICC) incharge of the J&K unit of the Congress party. Rajni Patil is reaching Jammu on August 30 with the newly appointed Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani.
"In the wake of a spate of resignations by loyalists of Ghulam Nabi Azad, the central leadership has asked Rajni Patil to open a channel of communication with those who owe their allegiance to the former leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha", a source in the Congress told The International Bussiness Times and revealed that many leaders are already in the queue to submit their resignations in support of Azad.
Loyalists reach Delhi to express solidarity with their Azad
After submitting their resignations loyalists of Ghulam Nabi Azad reached Delhi on Saturday morning to express their solidarity with their leader.
Azad loyalists are issuing statements from Delhi and posting pictures on social media to give a message to the party that more leaders are going to desert the Congress party.
As reported earlier, eight former legislators including three former cabinet ministers submitted their resignations so far. Many others to follow suit in the next couple of days.
J&K Cong leaders seek to downplay resignations
Putting up a brave face in the wake of a spate of resignations by Azad supporters, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress on Saturday said only those who were hibernating for eight years have deserted it.
"Azad will meet the same fate as that of former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh", Congress leaders said.
"It was unfortunate and regrettable that Azad submitted his resignation when whole Congress party is engaged in confronting, combating and fighting the BJP on public issues of price rise, unemployment, and polarization,", the working president of J&K Congress Raman Bhalla said.
"We see Azad's resignation as an attempt to harm the growing popularity of the Congress, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. Modi's tearful farewell to the former leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha (in February 2021) was an indication of the recent developments," Raman Bhalla told reporters at the party office.
Asked about the spate of resignations by Congress leaders in support of Azad, Bhalla said, "The party is strong and this is not a setback. People come and go but if you see, only those leaders who were in hibernation for the last eight years have deserted the party."
