New Delhi: Hours after he was appointed chairman of the Congress's campaign committee and a member of the political affairs committee in the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit, Ghulam Nabi Azad Tuesday, declined both posts, leaving the party red-faced.
Sources indicated that Azad saw the appointment as a demotion as he is already a member of the party's all-India political affairs committee. A veteran leader, he is also a former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state, served as a union minister, and held many important party posts. He was also one of the Group of 23 leaders who wrote an explosive letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi two years ago, seeking organisational changes.
The resignation of Azad came shortly after his close aide, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, was dropped from the post of the chief of the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit.
Vikar Rasool Wani, considered close to Azad—a member of the G-23 rebel grouping in the Congress, who called for a systemic overhaul of the party—was appointed the new Jammu and Kashmir unit chief. Wani replaced Ghulam Ahmad Mir, who had tendered his resignation in July after holding the post for eight years. Mir's resignation came on the back of Azad loyalists in J&K creating an open revolt, The Indian Express reported.
According to NDTV, Azad's resignation was predicated on the fact that he saw the new post as a demotion, even while the official reasons differed.
Sonia Gandhi had also formed the campaign committee, political affairs committee, coordination committee, manifesto committee, publicity and publication committee, disciplinary committee and Pradesh election committee with immediate effect, reported news agency Press Trust of India.
The assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held after the finalization of electoral rolls and the completion of the delimitation exercise. There is, however, concern that the polls cannot be held this year as delimitation and electoral roll revision cannot be completed before the deep winter sets in.
A timeline for the election is yet to be announced.