Srinagar: Amid the election fervour in Jammu and Kashmir many leaders are switching over their loyalties to other parties even as the former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad refuted rumours of rejoining Congress. Azad who founded Democratic Progressive Azad Party after resigning from Congress, issued clarification debunking the rumours that he was doing Congress wapsi.
"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. As the chief spokesperson of DPAP, let me make it clear, on behalf of the party chairman, that ever since Azad left the Congress party, neither Azad has approached any Congress leader nor any Congress leader has ever approached Azad directly or telephonically," Salman Nizami, Chief Spokesperson of DPAP said.
"Thus, these rumours are 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.
Speculations about Azad's Congress rejoining gained momentum when Taj Mohidin, a Gujjar leader and former Congress minister, said he was leaving Azad's party and rejoining Congress.
"I have been in Congress for 45 years and for some reason I had gone out, but now I am returning home. I have no enmity with Azad Sahab. We could not succeed as a political party... I am trying to bring Azad Sahab back home (to Congress). This is a national party and this party has given me respect," Taj told the media.
Azad's party, founded in 2022 months after he left Congress, has seen many leaders departing and rejoining Congress. He is left now with GM Saroori, RS Chib and Mohammad Amin Bhat. Speculations are rife that these leaders are also in touch with Congress leaders and may rejoin to contest Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the Apni Party founded by former PDP leader Altaf Bukhari saw two departures today. Former minister and two-time MLA from the Darhal Assembly segment (renamed Budhal after delimitation) Choudhary Zulfkar Ali today joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu.
Ali will contest Assembly elections from Budhal on a BJP ticket and is eyeing voters from Hindu areas which were added to this segment after delimitation. He will be in direct contest with his nephew Javaid Iqbal Choudhary, who is the brother of IAS officer Shahid Iqbal Choudhary.
Apni Party saw another leader from Kashmir's Kupwara today joining the National Conference. Javaid Mirchal, who was a PDP MLC during the PDP-BJP government, joined NC in the presence of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah.
Mirchal, who hails from the Karnah Assembly segment of Kupwara district, was the founder member of the Apni Party. He will contest Assembly elections on an NC ticket from Karnah after the party reportedly denied the ticket to former MLA Kafeel Ur Rehman.
NC vice-president described joining Mirchal as "good fortune" for his party. "Javaid Mirchal's joining the National Conference is a big thing. We are preparing for the elections and will field our candidates and hopefully, we will win," Omar said.
In a related development, the Peoples Conference of Sajad Lone also saw a senior activist and DDC member from Lolab Haji Farooq resigning from the party. Farooq was with Congress and is planning to rejoin the party and contest the elections from the Lolab segment of the Kupwara district.
Sources said that in the coming days, more political leaders and activists from the Apni Party, DPAPand BJP will change parties with the hope of getting a mandate to contest the elections.
Jammu and Kashmir is slated for polls from September 18 when the first phase will be conducted and polls will begin from southern districts of the Kashmir Valley. The second phase will be held on September 25 and the last and third phase will be held on October 1. The counting of votes for the 90 assembly segments will be held on October 4.
