‘Will Campaign for Congress Whenever Called’: Ghulam Nabi Azad

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

Amid reports of strife within the Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday, 5 March, said he'll campaign for the party wherever he is called since the Assembly elections are important for the party.

"We will be going to campaign for the party and candidates in the five states. That is the priority and to ensure the win of the Congress. This I am saying on behalf of my colleagues in the party," Azad said.

Azad, whose Rajya Sabha term ended recently, is one of the 23-odd dissenting Congress leaders who have called for reforms in the party and have been dubbed “G-23”.

The Congress is yet to release the list of its star campaigners for the Assembly polls in which Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are likely to be included.

Now all eyes are on the names of the leaders led by Azad. If leaders such as Manish Tewari, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Bhupinder Singh Hooda make it to the list of the Congress's star campaigners, it would imply that the party has tried to make peace with the group of dissenters.

The Congress has asked the dissenting leaders to join hands with the party to combat the BJP.

“I think the whole idea of this front is to fight the vitiating politics of BJP. Therefore, I would say each one of our senior and respected colleagues should join wholeheartedly and unconditionally in that fight to combat this false propaganda of the BJP.”

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a senior spokesperson of the party

Azad also spoke about the comments he made on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jammu that led some Congress party activists to burn his effigies outside the press club. He said that his comments were misunderstood and he didn’t praise the PM.

“I like lots of things about many leaders. I'm from a village and I feel proud of it. Even our PM (Narendra Modi) is from a village and used to sell tea. We're political rivals but I appreciate that he doesn't hide his true self. Those who do are living in a bubble,” Azad had said in a public meeting in February.

Elections to the 140-member Kerala Assembly, the 30-member Puducherry Assembly, and the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will be held in a single phase on 6 April, while polling for the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held on 27 March, 1 April, and 6 April.

The 294-member West Bengal Assembly will go to the polls in eight phases beginning on 27 March and ending on 29 April.

(With IANS inputs.)