Azad’s first rally in Jammu: Tagged as BJP’s A-team by Congress and various Kashmir-centric parties, Ghulam Nabi Azad is scheduled to address his first public meeting here on Sunday after quitting Congress and is also expected to launch his political party.

There is excitement among supporters of Azad who are expecting a large crowd at his rally in the Sainik Farms banquet hall where G-23 leaders had assembled last year to target the Congress leadership after Azad’s retirement from Rajya Sabha.

Azad’s first rally in Jammu

However, what remains to be seen is whether Azad, who reads pulse of the people, will be in a position to play the role that Mufti Sayeed played after quitting the Congress and launching the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999 that has so far thrice headed coalition governments in Jammu and Kashmir.

Azad has so far mostly played the role of fire fighter for Congress at the national level and won only once the assembly election in 2006 from his home constituency of Bhaderwah in the Doda district after he was installed as chief minister with PDP as coalition partner of Congress. He had lost his security deposit in the first assembly election that he contested as a hand-picked candidate of Sanjay Gandhi. In his maiden bid to enter the Lok Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir, Azad faced defeat from BJP’s Dr. Jitendra Singh in 2014 when he contested the Udhampur-Kathua Lok Sabha seat that consists of many assembly segments that Azad’s supporters claim are his stronghold.

On the other hand, PDP activists point out that Mufti Sayeed won the 1983 assembly election from the Ranbirsinghpura constituency of Jammu district. He was the first Kashmiri leader to win the assembly election as a Congress candidate from Jammu.

Supporters excited about Azad’s first rally in Jammu after quitting Congress

However, since then much water has flowed in the turbulent Chenab that after entering J&K from Himachal Pradesh criss-crosses through the mountainous districts of Kishtwar, Doda, Banihal etc that are now witnessing massive support for Azad with activists of other parties also joining him. His penetration in Kashmir is yet to be seen as only a couple of political leaders from the valley have so far expressed loyalty towards him.

The J&K Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari has dissolved the Kishtwar district body of the party. It is being said that several office bearers of the party in the district were likely to support Azad. Apni Party has also expelled Farooq Agmed Khyal, provincial secretary of Jammu, on the charges of anti-party activities.

National Conference chief and MP Dr. Farooq Abdullah is perhaps the only Kashmiri leader offering to enter into alliance with Azad’s party if need arises. Abdullah said that his doors were always open for Azad.

Other Kashmiri leaders have tagged Azad as the A-team of BJP. A senior Congress leader said Azad will face the fate like that of Punjab’s Captain Amarinder Singh who also quit the Congress and formed a regional party that failed to win even a single seat in the recent assembly elections.