After breaking ties with former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s five-decade-old alliance, the stage is now ready for what will be his new political chapter. It is D day for him and his supporters in Jammu where Azad is likely to start his own political party.
Preparations are in full swing for Azad’s first public meeting as a non-Congressman. According to former minister GM Saroori, a red carpet will be laid for Azad, who is scheduled to reach Jammu from Delhi this morning, and will be welcomed with a procession that will accompany him to the rally site in Sainik Colony.
Saroori is one of the prominent faces who quit the Congress after Azad publicly exited the party following the blast of a five-page letter. Rahul Gandhi To ‘break’ the party.
Reports suggest that it is at this grand event that 73-year-old Azad is expected to make the much-awaited announcement of the formation of his own political party.
Huge hoardings and banners have been put up to welcome Azad on the road adjacent to the Jammu airport. A seating arrangement for more than 20,000 people has been made at the main venue. Saroori said, “All those who have resigned in support of Azad will be present in the public meeting.”
He also told PTI that over 3,000 supporters of Azad representing different sections of the society have expressed their desire to join hands with him in the public meeting. “It is very difficult to manage such a large number of entrants, we have devised a formula to welcome new entrants to extend their support to Azad,” he added.
He said people from various political parties are also in touch with him and we are expecting a tsunami in the coming times in support of Azad. “People have tested Azad during his tenure as chief minister (from November 2005 to July 2008) and are eagerly waiting for his return as the next chief minister,” he said. He said the Azad-led party would be a reality on the political map of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the next assembly elections, which are likely to take place on November 25 after the completion of the ongoing process of special summary revision of the electoral rolls.
Azad quit the Congress, a party he has been associated with for more than five decades, on 26 August, terming the party a “massively destroyed”. Since Azad’s resignation, a flurry of top leaders and officials have left the party and vowed their support to Azad. A former deputy chief minister, eight former ministers, a former MP, nine MLAs, besides a large number of members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), municipal councilors from Jammu and Kashmir and grassroots workers all jumped in and joined the Azad camp.
Azad has come under severe criticism from the Congress ever since his exit from the public domain. Earlier this week, Azad took a dig at the Congress, which had indicated that he was cohabiting with the prime minister. Narendra Modi After he left the party. The Congress alleged that his “DNA is full of Modi” and several leaders attacked him, citing Modi’s speech in the Rajya Sabha in February last year, in which the tearful prime minister called Azad’s “true friend”. as praised.
Azad reacted strongly to the remarks and said that meeting and talking to political rivals does not change one’s DNA.
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