Former Congress veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday backed the Congress in the upcoming Gujarat and HImachal Pradesh assembly elections, and said that “I would still want Congress to perform well in Gujarat and HP Assembly polls. AAP isn't capable” of challenging the Bhartiya Janata Party.
Azad, who is also the former Leader of Opposition of Rajya Sabha, told ANI in a comment that “Although I have separated from Congress, I wasn't against their policy of secularism. It was only due to the party's system getting weakened.” He further expressed confidence in the party’s ability to take along everybody in its vision of progress, including both Hindu and Muslim farmers.
AAP ‘incapable’ of staging a strong opposition
He then went on to level attacks against the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, and said that it has failed in Punjab and the people of Punjab. He said, “AAP is merely a party of UT Delhi. They can't run Punjab efficiently, only Congress can challenge BJP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh as they have an inclusive policy.”
Azad’s resignation from Congress
Azad had quit the Congress on August 26, ending his 52-year-long association with the party and went on to launch his own political outfit called the “Democratic Azad Party.”
In his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, he bitterly targeted party leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi, over the way the party has been run in the past nearly nine years, describing the Wayanad MP as “non-serious” and “immature.”
In a five-page letter, Azad lambasted the party’s functioning, claiming that Sonia Gandhi functioned only as a weak “nominal head,” while all the major decisions were being taken by "Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and PAs."
Following the quit, he described the Congress’ downfall as dire and opined that the party reached a situation from where there could be “no return.”
Three-way contest in assembly polls
Elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will take place on December 8.
Gujarat has long been a stronghold for the BJP, where it has won six consecutive assembly polls. The Congress on Saturday announced its first list of 43 candidates for the polls and is keen to finalize candidatures to give them more time for campaigning and is seeking to bolster its campaign through Bharat Jodo yatras.
Unlike previous elections, the AAP is also hoping to emerge as a frontrunner in the assembly seats, making this a triangular contest between the three parties.
