After Congress exit, buzz over Ghulam Nabi Azad floating new party

Hours after he announced his exit from Congress, the political space was abuzz with rumours that senior politician and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad is set to float his own party.

In a jolt to the Congress, senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday quit the party, accusing the leadership of propping up "proxies" and trying to foist a non-serious leader at the helm in the last eight years, which had led to conceding space to the BJP and regional parties.

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In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Azad said proxies are being propped up to take over leadership and organisational elections are a sham. He added that all senior and experienced leaders were sidelined and new coterie of inexperienced sycophants started running the affairs of the party.

At a time reports emerged that Ashok Gehlot haD emerged as a frontrunner to become Congress president, Azad said the new president will just be a puppet.

He said Congress conceded space to BJP at the national level and to regional parties at the state level because in the last 8 years the party has been trying to foist a non serious leader at the helm.

Azad's resignation comes days after he refused to take up the chairmanship of Jammu and Kashmir Campaign Committee.

Azad's letter was a scathing attack on both Sonia and Rahul. He said the "remote control model" that had demolished the UPA has found a place in the party now.

(With inputs from DHNS)