New Delhi, August 7th – In a significant development, more than 20 prominent leaders hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, a considerable number from Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party, officially became part of the Congress during a ceremony graced by the presence of party leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday.
The event witnessed the participation of Congress President Kharge, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal, AICC’s State In-Charge Rajani Patil, and Jammu and Kashmir Congress Chief Vikar Rasool Wani.
Among the notable personalities making the transition was Yashpal Kundal, a former Minister and a two-time legislator from the Panthers Party. Kundal, who also held the position of Chief of the SC/ST and OBC Department of AAP in J-K, took the step of joining the Congress.
Haji Abdul Rashid Dar, previously a Vice President of JKPCC who had later aligned with Azad’s party, chose to return to the Congress fold, marking a reunion of sorts.
A roster of leaders, including Naresh K Gupta (DPAP), Sham Lal Bhagat (DPAP), Namrata Sharma (Apni Party), Saima Jan (DPAP), Shahjehan Dar (DPAP), Farooq Ahmad (AAP), Taranjit Singh Toni, Gazanfar Ali, Santosh Majotra (DPAP), Rajni Sharma (DPAP), Nirmal Singh Mehta (DPAP), Madan Lal Chalotra (APNI Party), Hamit Singh Batti (AAP), Ramesh Pandotra (AAP), Vaid Raj Sharma (AAP), Mandeep Chowdhary (AAP), Nazir Ahmed Auqab, Maheshvar Vishwakarma, and Jung Bahadur Sharma (DPAP), formally joined the Congress ranks.
This development carries added significance as several leaders, who had previously left the Congress to join Azad’s party subsequent to his departure from the grand old party to form his own outfit, have now decided to realign themselves with the Congress once again.
