Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is likely to return to the party as talks have been initiated between the two, sources said on Friday. The prominent leader from the Valley had quit his 52-year-long association with the Congress party on August 26 and announced his new political outfit 'Democratic Azad Party' in October.
If sources are to be believed, Azad has asserted that he is not against the policies of Congress but had issues with its weak system. He has also claimed during the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, that only Congress can compete with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Following his statement, Congress-led Bharat Jodo Yatra's convenor, Digvijaya Singh openly invited Azad to be a part of the yatra. According to sources, former G23 leaders — Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Bhupinder Singh — contacted Azad and advocated his return to Congress besides him joining the Yatra.
Despite Azad's sharp attacks on Congress' former chief Rahul Gandhi in his resignation, which have upset the family, the party is making every possible attempt to bring Azad back 'home'.
For this, president of Bihar Congress Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Ambika Soni have been tasked with the responsibility to bridge the gap between Ghulam Nabi Azad and Congress.
Even as Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti have made public announcements to join the yatra in J-K, Azad is yet to confirm his participation.
Azad rejects reports about his rejoining Congress
Later on the day, Azad rejected reports about his rejoining the Congress as "completely baseless" and alleged this was to demoralise his party workers.
Expressing "shock" at the reports in a section of media in this regard, Azad, in a tweet, said: "... Unfortunately such stories are being planted by a section of leaders in the congress party right now and are doing this just to demoralise my leaders and supporters".
"I don't have any ill will against the congress party and its leadership, however, I request them to tell these habitual story planters to refrain from doing so. Once again I would like to insist that this story is completely baseless!" he said in a subsequent tweet. There have been reports of back-channel talks within Congress circles.
In his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi on August 26, Azad had targeted party leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi, over the way the party has been run in the past nearly nine years. In the hard-hitting five-page letter, Azad had claimed that a coterie runs the party while Sonia Gandhi was just "a nominal head" and all the major decisions were taken by "Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and PAs".
With inputs from ANI
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