J&K Congress projects Azad as party’s CM candidate

NEW DELHI: The Congress in Jammu and Kashmir appeared divided on government formation, with one section demanding that the party keep open the issue and prevent the BJP from cobbling up a coalition in the state by “engineering” defections in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

But the dominant section, comprising influential leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, expressed strong opposition to the idea and insisted that the party should demand fresh elections so that people are given a chance to elect a popular government, said a Congress leader who was present in the two-day marathon meeting in Srinagar.

At the end of the meeting on Wednesday, the state Congress also unanimously passed a resolution to project Azad, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, as the party’s CM candidate for the next elections.

Congress leaders also cited the state’s stringent anti-defection law to dispel the apprehensions that the party may witness desertions in the wake of attempts by BJP to form the government.

Jammu & Kashmir has its own anti-defection law, which is different from the central law.

According to Constitutional expert and senior advocate Zafar Shah, if one or few legislators leave a party than the Speaker has the power to dismiss them as per the law.

“However, if there is a split in the party, which is 50% of the legislators leave, the law does not apply,” he said.