Congress gets another jolt as J&K ex-chief Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed quits

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, August 31

Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, former president of the Pradesh Congress Committee, on Wednesday resigned from the party, pledging his support to veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. “I was feeling suffocated in the party. With a heavy heart, I am snapping my ties with the party after nearly 50 years,” Sayeed said. Azad, who now has two top Congressmen from Kashmir—Taj Mohiuddin and Peerzada Sayeed, is expected to float his party in Jammu on September 4.

Congress and others in J&K are accusing Azad of helping the BJP to come to power in the only Muslim majority Union Territory of the country. However, analysts say Azad will consolidate the voters in Jammu against the BJP.

“There is the likelihood that Congress leaders and vote will go to the BJP in the absence of Azad. In that sense, he will be consolidating both Muslim and Hindu votes in Jammu,” said a Jammu-based political analyst.

New Delhi can’t afford to ruin its achievements of abrogating Articles 370 and 35-A by favouring a political government that is the antithesis of its Kashmir policy, he said.

Meanwhile, a senior official in the J&K government, seeking anonymity, said, “Except Azad, I don’t think New Delhi can afford to hand over the power to local leaders of the BJP or any other party. There is no serious leader in the state BJP who can handle the situation. New Delhi can sacrifice even the local BJP for having a strong government that doesn’t go against its Kashmir policy. So, Azad is the best bet.”