Ghulam Nabi Azad’s incoherent politics the reason for his party’s unravelling

Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad

In less than a hundred days of forming his Democratic Azad Party (DAP), former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is facing tough times as his loyalists and he do not see eye-to-eye anymore.

The latest political turbulence erupted after Azad expelled senior leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, former Minister Manohar Lal, and former MLA Thakur Balwan Singh for anti-party activities.

The expelled leaders were touted as the backbone of the J&K Congress by Azad when they had joined his party almost three months ago. After their expulsion, a total of 126 DAP members have resigned in protest.

The leaders have alleged that Azad had chosen to concentrate only on a few districts and divide secular forces in the region. Political analysts say Azad has lost ground in the union territory.

Talking to Moneycontrol, Chand said, "We cheated the Congress and Azad cheated us. I am surprised that a leader of his stature could expel us without any consultation. Azad was like family to us, whom we joined when he was alone."

Azad is working at the behest of a coterie of two-three leaders, who forced him to resign from the Congress, and then got them expelled as well, Tara alleged.

"Azad had called for a meeting when many of us had party-related engagements in the border areas, where phone calls don’t go through easily. Instead of waiting for our response, an expulsion notice was issued. 126 people have resigned in our support and many more will resign in the coming days," said Chand.

Chand was the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 2009 to 2014, when Congress and the National Conference had formed the government by forging an alliance.

"With this expulsion, it’s clear that Azad did not want us to work in Hindu-majority areas so that he could help the BJP. In which case, how can he become an alternative in the state," Chand questioned.

Reacting to the development, DAP’s Chief Spokesperson, Salman Nizami, said the leaders were planning to re-join the Congress and were in touch with the Pradesh Congress Committee. "If some leaders have resigned, many have joined us. They were involved in petty internal politics and were not letting youngsters join the party," said Nizami.

Recently, all these leaders had said that they would be joining Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. "This vindicates the party’s stand that they were involved in anti-party activities. Our party leader had summoned them many times for a meeting but none of them turned up," added Nizami.

Political experts say that Azad had a standing in Jammu and Kashmir and could have become a popular voice, but not having a clear agenda has been problematic for him.

Jammu-based political commentator Rekha Choudhary said, "Azad’s party had a good chance of doing well in the Jammu region  and competing with the BJP, the dominant party here. But it couldn’t take a political position against the BJP. Attacking the Congress all the time won’t give it votes for the simple reason that the Congress is almost a spent force here."

A new party has to work on the ground and mobilise people, challenging those in power at the time and not a bygone ghost, she added.                                                                                                                                                                                           "The party didn’t take young politicians on board, only old Congress leaders who were deemed more loyal to Azad than the Gandhis. With the factionalism within the DAP on public display, Azad's leadership is shown up in a poor light. After he resigned from the Congress,  Azad’s politics was incoherent as he failed to articulate a relevant political narrative," she said.

Another political analyst, Rasheed Kidwai said, "The expulsion and resignation of leaders clearly indicates that Azad lacks leadership abilities. He was a good manager in the Congress, and duly executed the party’s decisions, but he is not a decision maker. He can’t take a clear stand. He praises Modi and criticises the BJP and creates confusion."

"Jammu and Kashmir is his home state, he could have done better, but failed to live up to people’s expectations," he added.

Azad had launched the Democratic Azad Party on September 26, 2022. He was joined by 64 leaders, including former ministers, who resigned from the Congress. The Election Commission of India has objected to the party’s name as a party with a similar name exists in Uttar Pradesh. The party leadership is considering changing it to Progressive Azad Party. Azad should also try and make some progress in keeping with the name change.