Ahead of the assembly polls, the Congress has initiated the process of ensuring unity among the leadership in Jammu and Kashmir.
Reports indicate the Congress top brass is working to address rivalry in the party in the union territory and has summoned JKPCC chief Vikar Rasool to Delhi for a meeting on Tuesday.
Former JKPCC chief G.A. Mir has also been asked to come to Delhi to deliberate on developments within the party, and for the selection of candidates for the assembly polls scheduled for September.
On August 8, several Congress leaders from Jammu and Kashmir held a meeting with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi to discuss the polls and other issues concerning the party.
The Congress has already started the process of identifying candidates for the polls.
Rasool has instructed the District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents to submit the names of potential candidates within three days.
“We will be meeting before or after Independence Day to shortlist the names of the candidates for approval by the top leadership in New Delhi,’’ Rasool said. “The Congress party has a presence everywhere in Jammu and Kashmir, and we have more than one potential candidate for all constituencies.”
Sources said that some J&K Congress leaders are not happy with Rasool’s style of working and want him to be replaced. They have also written to Kharge requesting him to remove Rasool as JKPCC chief, accusing him of ignoring seniors and harming the party's interests. Former MLA Sopore Haji Rashid also wrote a letter to the AICC on May 30, accusing Rasool of ignoring him during the election campaign.
“Yes, I wrote a letter in May, but I am not aware of anything else,’’ he said. “I wrote the letter because the situation demanded it at that time.”
Rasool took over from Mir at a time when Ghulam Nabi Azad quit Congress and floated his party, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP). Several Congress leaders in Jammu and Kashmir joined him, weakening the Congress. However, several of them have rejoined the party as DPAP failed to make an impression on the ground amid allegations that Azad was a proxy of the BJP.
