Ghulam Nabi Azad's party rejects Congress merger speculations; calls them 'false'

A day after senior party leader Taj Mohi-ud-Din deserted the party to rejoin the Congress, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) on Sunday refuted reports of the party's merger with the Grand-old Party.

In a statement, Salman Nizami, chief spokesperson of the DPAP said that ever since Azad left the Congress Party, neither Azad has approached any Congress leader nor any Congress leader has ever approached him directly or telephonically.

"Rumours have been spread by Congress leaders of Jammu & Kashmir for the last two weeks that Ghulam Nabi Azad and his party are joining Congress. It is also being spread that Azad was approached by the Central Congress leadership to join the Congress Party", Nizami said, adding, "As the chief spokesperson of DPAP, let me make it clear, on behalf of the party Chairman, that ever since Azad has left Congress Party, neither Azad has approached any congress leader nor any congress leader has ever approached Mr. Azad directly or telephonically".

"Thus, these rumours are totally baseless and false, just to create confusion and break our party. Azad has requested all our party leaders and workers not to get into this trap and also requested the media persons not to give any importance to these rumours", he said.

Taj Mohi-ud-Din quits Ghulam Nabi Azad's DPAP on Saturday 

On Saturday, former minister and ex-MLA Taj Mohi-ud-Din announced his resignation from the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led DPAP to rejoin the Congress. "I have resigned from the Democratic Progressive Azad Party," Mohiuddin said and announced that he would rejoin the Congress, with which he had been associated for more than four decades.

In August 2022, Taj Mohi-Ud-Din had resigned from his basic membership in Congress in support of former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and subsequently joined the Azad-led DPAP.

Over 50 loyalists of Azad already rejoined Congress

Taj Mohi-ud-Din is not an isolated case, nearly 50 staunch supporters of Ghulam Nabi Azad have already rejoined the Congress within two years after the formation of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).

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 the entry of Bharat Jodo Yatra in J&K in January 2023.

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 the 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.