Opinion

Azad Puzzle Challenge

What’s Ghulam Nabi up to? Is he relaunching himself? Is he eyeing the Vice-President’s post? Will he form a breakaway faction? Is he joining the BJP?

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Azad Puzzle Challenge
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The Congress and its supporters in Jammu and Kashmir couldn’t be more confused and hopeful at the same time. And it’s all got to do with senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, a party loyalist since the early 1970s. He upset the party’s powerful family circle last year by being among the “Gang of 23” to write a letter seeking reforms in the organisation—an act seen as a dare, an affront. He retired from the Rajya Sabha recently, but his televised farewell will be remembered for Prime Minister Modi tearing up as he waxed lyrical about Azad sahab, the wise parliamentarian. The Kashmiri politician reciprocated in a series of rallies in Jammu early March. He praised Modi for equal measure, publicly and in front of his home folks.

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Common sense says that Azad, at 72, is looking to march out of the Congress, along with fellow travellers like Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal who were by his side in Jammu. Sharma tried not to hide that they too are disappointed with the top leadership—that the feeling is mut­ual. “A party can give a designation and rank, but not every person occupying the designation necessarily becomes a people’s leader,” he said and the reference to party vice president Rahul Gandhi was obvious. Azad could sense the discomfort such comments make. He said he would campaign for the Congress in the five-state assembly elections this summer whenever/wherever the high command deploys him.

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Still, questions abound, confusion reigns and speculation swirls. What is he up to? Is he relaunching himself? Is he eyeing the nation’s Vice President’s post? Or, the chief minister’s post? Will he form a breakaway faction? Is he joining the BJP? But will old loyalties forged on well-grounded anvils fail to absorb the shocks and buckle? Is Jammu a walkabout to get a whiff of the wind’s direction? The answers float like dandelions in the wind.

“Azad sahab came to Jammu to add­ress rallies organised by NGOs, not by a political party. His visit rejuvenated our workers. But a couple of leaders accompanying him gave speeches that led to speculation. He should clear the confusion,” says Ravinder Sharma, the J&K Congress unit’s chief spokesman, quickly adding that Azad has dismissed rumours about leaving the party. “We believe Azad sahab could be the natural choice for the Congress’s chief ministerial candidate.” Some like Taj Mohideen, a senior leader, are clearly behind Azad. “He is very much with the Congress and will remain so. He will lead the Congress campaign in Jammu and Kashmir once statehood is restored,” he asserts.

Such comments stem from existential realities—the Congress is in the pits, a tally of 26 out of 280 seats in this ­winter’s district development council elections confirms its position, but its luck can turn the corner if Azad agrees to helm the party in J&K and work his rapport with the National Conference (NC). “Azad is close to Farooq Abdullah and is well-respected across J&K. People still remember his tenure as chief minister,” says G.N. Monga, a Congress leader. The NC and Congress jointly ruled J&K from 2009 to 2014. The NC did well in the council elections. The BJP’s count of 75 was confined to the four districts of Jammu—a region where Azad has influence. But his recent pro-Modi speeches have kept the local Congress confused—and confusion often breeds contempt.

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By Naseer Ganai in Srinagar

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