At a time when Congress is battling with leadership crisis at the national level, voices have started emerging within the party’s Jammu and Kashmir unit regarding the change of president in the Union Territory (UT).
Sources told Deccan Herald that J&K Congress vice-president G N Monga and a group of eight to ten other senior leaders have shot a letter to the party President, Sonia Gandhi seeking removal of incumbent president, GA Mir from the position.
Similarly, they said, another communication has been sent to the party high command by a group of former legislators of the Congress seeking removal of Mir as the party president. “The signatories of the letter include, former ministers, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, G M Saroori, Tara Chand and Manohar Lal, former legislators, Jugal Kishor, Jehangir Mir, Mohammad Amin Bhat and others,” they claimed.
In both the letters addressed to Sonia Gandhi, party sources said, the J&K leaders have warned the high command that more and more workers will leave the party “if Mir is not removed.”
Mir, who had been appointed as the president of J&K Congress in March 2015, contested 2019 Lok Sabha polls from south Kashmir’s Anantnag constituency, but lost to National Conference candidate Hasnain Masoodi.
“There is an internal war going on within the Congress and Mir has lost grip over the party affairs creating a huge leadership vacuum,” a senior Congress leader wishing anonymity told DH.
“In Jammu, where the party has a huge vote base, the leadership is totally annoyed with the policies of Mir. The party has failed to counter the rise of the BJP and if immediate steps are not taken by the high command, there is possibility that the Congress may be wiped out from the J&K,” he warned.