Poll debacle triggers debate over Karra’s appointment as J&K Congress president

The Congress’s debacle in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls has triggered a debate over the appointment of Tariq Hameed Karra as the party unit chief here, with a section of leaders gunning for his head.

However, Karra loyalists maintain that he has emerged as an “unsung hero” as he led the party to remarkable victories, including in two new seats in north Kashmir, despite assuming the charge of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress only a few weeks ahead of the polls.

An alliance partner of the National Conference (NC), the Congress could win only six seats — five in Kashmir and one in Jammu — in the recent Assembly elections.

In consultation with the top Congress leadership, Karra has formed a fact-finding committee to ascertain the reasons behind the party’s poor poll show, especially in the Jammu region, and suggest measures for strengthening the organisation.

A former minister, Karra was appointed as the president of the J&K Congress on August 16, replacing Vikar Rasool Wani. The decision to appoint Karra coincided with the announcement of the Assembly polls in the Union Territory.

Wani, former deputy chief minister Tara Chand, working president of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress Raman Bhalla and several former ministers were among the candidates of the grand old party who tasted defeat in the polls.

“Blaming Karra for the defeat of the majority of the party candidates is injustice.... Under his leadership, Irfan Hafeez Lone and Nizamuddin Butt joined the party and won the polls from the Wagoora-Kreeri and Badipora constituencies in north Kashmir, while Karra himself won the Central-Shelteng seat in Srinagar. The party also secured two of the three seats in south Kashmir,” said a Congress leader who did not want to be named.

He claimed that the leaders who lost the poll contest due to their own failures are now plotting against Karra. “They are disgruntled over Karra’s success, which has revitalised the party,” he said.

According to sources, a group of Congress leaders has held a meeting and passed a resolution blaming Karra for the party’s poor poll performance. These leaders are planning to meet the top Congress leadership and submit the resolution, the sources said. Dismissing the resolution, the leader said Karra’s achievements are all the more impressive given the short time frame he had and the damage control that was required. Meanwhile, several Congress leaders welcomed the formation of the fact-finding committee to ascertain the reasons for the party’s poor poll show.