Is it turning out to be a mistake of the leaders, who deserted the Congress party, and joined Ghulam Nabi Azad-led Democratic Azad Party (DAP), because, it seems that they are heading back to where they came from as the process has been kick-started with the expulsion of former Deputy Chief Minister of erstwhile J&K state, Tara Chand and two others from DAP? Their joining-in was quite moving, where Azad was termed as the tallest and only capable leader of J&K, but now, things are happening in contrast to those moving statements made when Azad resigned from Congress and hinted at floating a new political party on the political landscape of the UT.
The accusations made by the ousted leaders, in particular Tara Chand, are severe, and this statement also reveals the already-existing divisions inside the newly constituted party. These ousted officials even went so far as to describe the party as “non-existent,” with a small group of people in charge. The accusation that Azad founded a new party solely to “split” the “secular” voters in J&K is far more serious. The last allegation is simple to understand because it implies that Azad’s DAP may be working to aid non-secular parties by splitting secular votes and funnelling them all to those who have a blatantly non-secular agenda. This would seriously undermine a healthy democracy and would undoubtedly be dishonest with the value and respect of a single vote.
The expelled leaders have not talked about what “anti-party” activities they indulged in—which have been made as a basis for kicking them out by Azad—however, they are not this time heading in some other direction, but are going right back to the party where they came from, Congress. What remains to be the point of curiosity is, what was it they saw when they joined the party and what have they now finally seen through their eyes, felt with their senses, that they are at odds with Azad and his newly formed party which has been promising of talking about everything but the restoration of the special status of J&K.
If the leaders, who have been shown the door, are right and have been able to understand the aim and objective of Azad’s DAP by making the right assessment, then, something crucial has changed within Ghulam Nabi Azad—or did he come in with a changed heart—which was caught and seen by the expelled leaders through the manifestation of DAP’s political posturing aimed at favouring a particular political ideology, which would certainly go against the foundations of the Congress party as well as the DAP, minus what Azad is eyeing to achieve on the political turf of J&K where the dynamics have changed entirely. With Tara Chand suggesting that most of the leaders would leave Azad’s political party, the signs of the internal rift are visible, the results of which will raise serious questions over the credibility of DAP as well as the sincerity of Ghulam Nabi Azad towards the people of J&K.
