Congress revamps its state unit in J&K, announces team of 88

Congress President Sonia Gandhi (Source: PTI)

With only 12 legislators in the state assembly, the Congress has announced a jumbo team of 88 office bearers including 64-member executive committee for the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC).

The decision to revamp the state unit of the party was taken by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Many new faces have been included in the state committee while some loyalists of former Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress president Saifudin Soz have been dropped.

Former minister and senior Congress leader Abdul Gani Vakil who had opposed the appointment of Ghulam Ahmad Mir as JKPCC president was also dropped from the state committee.

On March 2, Mir was appointed as JKPCC president replacing veteran leader and former Union Minister Saifudin Soz.

The new team has a senior vice president, nine vice presidents and dozens of secretaries and general secretaries.

Former Minister Shyam Lal Sharma who is close to JKPCC president has been appointed as the senior vice president of the state unit.

Three sitting assembly members – G M Saroori, Haji Rashid and Usman Majeed who are considered close to the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad have been appointed as vice presidents and general secretary in the new team.

The party has also awarded posts to several former ministers who lost assembly elections. Many young leaders and women faces have also been given representation in new the team.

The party has nominated 64 member executive body in which most of the senior party leaders have been included.

Former JKPCC president Saifudin Soz has been named as member of the executive committee.

The party has also nominated seven member disciplinary committee.

Congress leaders said that after the poor performance of the party in state assembly elections, the central leadership has asked new team to revive the stakes of the party that has been running coalition government in the state from last 12 years first with the PDP and then with National Conference before the PDP-BJP coalition government took reins of power in the state.

Many leaders within the Congress, however, said that the team of office bearers will in no way help to revive the fortunes of the party in the state.

JKPCC president Ghulam Ahmad Mir told The Indian Express that the committee compared to past teams of the office bearers is small.

“We have tried to give representation to all the areas of the state in the committee. Young leaders who have support in the masses have also been given important posts to revive the party.”

Mir said that senior leaders have been included in the executive body for guidance.

Source:: Indian Express