Ghulam Nabi Azad Quits Congress: Tracing His Mounting Discontent From the Party

Azad headed the group of the 23 senior leaders who had co-signed the letter criticising Congress top brass in 2020.

Azad is one of the 23-odd dissenting Congress leaders who have called for reforms in the party and have been dubbed “G-23”.

(Photo: Altered by Erum Gour/The Quint)

"The situation has become irretrievable," indicated veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in his final shot to Sonia Gandhi on Friday, 26 August, as he announced his departure from the Congress after nearly 5 decades of association with the party.

The move by the 72-year-old politician who has served in various top positions, including a Union minister and the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, comes amid his prolonged differences with the party's central leadership and the Gandhi family.

Here is a look at Ghulam Nabi Azad's growing discontent from the Congress' top leadership, right up to his resignation.

Initial Cracks: The G-23 & Demands of Leadership Reform

After seeing a string of electoral defeats since 2014 – when the Congress first lost power to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level – a group of 23 leaders, dubbed the 'G-23', were the first to write an unsparing letter to Sonia Gandhi in 2020, urging for critical organisational changes, a "full-time and visible leadership," and decentralisation of decision-making powers.

Azad headed the consortium of the 23 senior leaders who had co-signed the letter in August 2020.

Apart from being seen as an act of internal rebellion, the letter was also viewed as a direct attack on Rahul Gandhi, who quit as the party chief after the Congress’ defeat in Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

However, it was decided that Sonia Gandhi will continue as the interim president of the party.

In his letter on Friday, Azad alleged that since Rahul Gandhi entered politics, and after he was appointed as the vice president of the party in January 2013, the consultative mechanism of the Congress party was shattered.

"All senior and experienced leaders were sidelined and a new coterie of inexperienced sycophants started running the affairs of the party," he wrote in the letter.

Dropped As General Secretary

A few weeks after the G-23 letter, in a major overhaul, Azad was dropped as the party general secretary in September 2020.

“The party whole-heartedly appreciates the contributions of outgoing General Secretaries Ghulam Nabi Azad, Motial Vora, Ambika Soni, Mallikarjun Kharge and Luizinho Faleiro, said a letter signed off by Sonia Gandhi.

He was, however, still a part of the CWC.

'I Am Free Now': Azad's Rajya Sabha Term Ends

In the lead up to his retirement as a Rajya Sabha member in February 2021, the J&K leader, who was the then Leader of Opposition in the upper house, said that neither does he wish to be an MP or minister nor does he want to hold any position in the party.

He also said that going forward, people will see him at many places as he is ''free now'.'

"I consider myself fortunate that I got to work for the nation. I am happy that I was able to perform my duties honestly. I got the opportunity to understand the world and the country," Azad was quoted as saying.

The Congress leader also notably expressed his desire to not hold any party position in future, saying that he has "done enough work."

Widening Divide: PM's Farewell Speech, Padma Vibhushan & Azad's Swipe at Congress 

As his tenure ended, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an emotional farewell speech for Azad. While recalling his long association with the senior leader, he remembered the contribution made by Azad to the country, the House, and his party.

The BJP leader said the person who will replace Azad as Leader of Opposition will have extreme difficulty matching his work because of his dedication.

Later in 2022, when the Narendra Modi government conferred the Padma Bhushan on Ghulam Nabi Azad, a divided response from Congress functionaries exposed a deep divide within the party.

"It feels good when the country or the government recognises someone's work," Mr Azad had said then, in an apparent swipe at the INC.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who was also part of the G-23 and quit the party earlier this year said that it was “ironic that the party does not need his services when the nation recognises his contributions to public life.”

Rahul Gandhi Probed by ED, GN Azad Missing From Demonstrations

In June 2022, Azad skipped the nationwide 'Satyagrah' protest called by the Congress against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as it questioned Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.

Foregoing Position of Chairman of the J&K Campaign Panel

Friday's development also comes a week after the veteran leader resigned from the key post of Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress campaign committee hours after his appointment.

However, the veteran leader declined to assume the position citing his poor health.