Congress appoints two J&K leaders in CWC to counter Azad ahead of assembly elections [details]

Congress high command on Sunday nominated two prominent faces from Jammu and Kashmir namely Ghulam Ahmed Mir and Tariq Hamid Karra in the newly constituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) - the highest decision-making body of the party.

Although the Congress leadership is repeatedly dubbing the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) of Ghulam Nabi Azad as the "Disappearing Azad Party", nomination of two members from the Kashmir Valley in the CWC is a clear indication that the party is not ignoring the influence of the former leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Nomination of Karra and Mir in the CWC aimed at checking Ghulam Nabi Azad who has floated DPAP in September 2022 to "finish" Congress in J&K.

Ghulam Ahmed Mir, who is the former president of J&K Congress, is nominated as a member of the CWC while Karra is nominated as a special invitee in the highest-decision making body of the party.

Karra renominated in CWC

Former Finance Minister of J&K, Tariq Hamid Karra is renominated in the CWC. Karra is one of the founder members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but he opposed the party's alliance with BJP.

On September 15, 2016, Karra had resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Lok Sabha.

"I was feeling suffocated by the alliance and new avatar adorned by the PDP. My conscience cannot take it anymore. As a mark of protest against sell-out to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), I am disassociating myself from the primary membership of the party as well as Parliament,", Karra said at that time.

"Seeds of deceit, discontent, and betrayal got sown in the hearts and minds of the people that very day when the PDP got into an alliance with the BJP and formed the government", he said. Later on February 19, 2017, Karra joined Congress.

Kharge reconstitutes CWC

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday reconstituted the 84-member Congress Working Committee (CWC).

The new CWC has 39 regular members, 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state, and 13 special invitees, including presidents of the Youth Congress, the National Students' Union of India, the Mahila Congress and the Seva Dal as ex-officio members.

As per reports the new CWC will replace the Steering Committee that was formed as a stop-gap arrangement after Kharge became the party president on October 10 last year.

Azad focussing on Cong's strongholds in Kashmir.

Ghulam Nabi Azad on the other hand is focussing on the areas which are considered as strongholds of the Congress in Kashmir Valley.

On Sunday, Azad addressed an impressive public meeting at Dooru in South Kashmir which is the native place of Ghulam Ahmed Mir who was appointed a CWC member on Sunday. At Dooru Azad reiterated that he will address the soaring unemployment problem of Jammu and Kashmir if elected to power since the UT is figuring among the top five states in terms of no employment opportunities to the youth.

Azad said that it is not only the educated youth who is facing the unemployment crisis, the non-skilled and illiterate class equally faces problems to search for their manual job.

"If I am back to power, I will start again triple shift of developmental works that will ensure all the local skilled as well as non-skilled labours are accommodated to earn their livelihood", he promised.