J&K Congress factional feud: High Command calls senior leaders to Delhi amid growing crisis

As infighting within the Jammu and Kashmir Congress has taken an ugly turn, with senior leaders airing each other’s dirty laundry in public, the party high command has summoned five senior leaders from both camps to New Delhi on Monday in an effort to defuse the growing crisis.

A source in the Congress said that the party high command has called AICC General Secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hamid Karra, JKPCC Working President Raman Bhalla, former JKPCC chief Vikar Rasool Wani, and former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand for discussions in the national capital.

According to sources, the meeting is likely to be held on Monday evening, during which the party leadership is expected to review the ongoing organisational turmoil and hear the views of leaders from both factions.

A faction led by Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former J&K Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani, along with former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, has launched an aggressive campaign against incumbent J&K Congress chief Tariq Hamid Karra.

Recently, during a function at Khour in Jammu district, Wani launched a blistering attack on Karra and questioned his political credentials, his past political positions, and his role in shaping the party’s strategy during the 2024 Assembly elections.

In an apparent attempt to remind party workers of Karra’s political past, Wani alleged that some leaders currently occupying influential positions in the party had earlier advocated policies inconsistent with the Congress’ nationalist ideology.

“They are the same people who had moved resolutions in the Legislative Assembly of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir seeking the introduction of Pakistani currency alongside Indian currency,” Wani alleged.

He further accused such leaders of benefiting from land belonging to displaced Kashmiri Pandits and questioned their moral authority to lead the party.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Congress leader told The International Business Times that the party high command has taken a very serious view of the recent public statements and counter-statements made by senior leaders.

The move comes against the backdrop of intensifying internal discord within the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, which recently prompted a group of senior leaders and party workers to write to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking his immediate intervention in what they described as a deepening organisational crisis in the Union Territory.

Earlier, Congress leaders wrote to Kharge

In their communication to the party leadership, the dissident leaders expressed concern over the deteriorating condition of the organisation and alleged that growing resentment among party workers had now translated into public protests against the Pradesh Congress Committee leadership, damaging the party’s image, unity, and grassroots base.

Without naming any individual, the leaders claimed that factionalism and organisational weakness had increased after the Assembly elections. They alleged that certain decisions and strategies adopted during the electoral process adversely affected the prospects of several influential Congress candidates, causing long-term damage to the party’s morale and organisational structure.

The letter also accused the current PCC leadership of failing to address concerns repeatedly raised by senior leaders and grassroots workers. According to the dissidents, instead of fostering collective leadership and strengthening the organisation, an atmosphere of mistrust, discrimination, and demoralisation had taken root within the party.

The leaders further alleged that dedicated Congress workers were being sidelined, while individuals with little association with the party’s ideology and legacy were being accommodated in key organisational positions. Such developments, they claimed, had triggered widespread dissatisfaction among loyal workers who had stood by the party during difficult political periods.

The upcoming meeting in New Delhi is being viewed as a crucial attempt by the Congress high command to bridge differences between rival factions and restore unity within the party’s Jammu and Kashmir unit ahead of future political challenges.

Dissidents hold rally at Khour

Meanwhile, dissident leaders led by Vikar Rasool Wani and Tara Chand organised a rally at Khour on Sunday to demonstrate their strength within the party.

Addressing the gathering, the dissident leaders claimed that they were the “real Congressmen” and accused the current leadership of weakening the organisation. Several dissident leaders from different parts of Jammu province attended the rally, underscoring the widening divide within the party.