Ensuring Victory Of Cong In Assembly Polls Priority: Azad

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said that ensuring victory of the party in the forthcoming assembly elections is a priority and he along with his colleagues will work towards it and campaign in these polls. Polls in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and Union Territory Puducherry will begin from March 27.

Azad, who is a prominent member of the group of 23 leaders who had demanded organisational overhaul in the Congress, said that for the next two months the party is the top priority.

"We will campaign where ever the party sends us for campaigning or candidates invite us to campaign for them in the upcoming assembly elections in five states," he said during an interaction with reporters.

"Ensuring the victory of the Congress in the upcoming assembly elections is our top priority. Everything else will be secondary. I and my colleagues will campaign in all upcoming state polls," Azad said, adding that "we will try our best that the Congress wins in these elections".

Members of the group of 23 leaders, who had demanded an overhaul in the Congress, had recently said at an event in Jammu that the party has weakened. Asked whether the members of the 'G-23' will campaign even if the party does not ask them, Azad said, the party always sends main campaigners for some candidates.

He said he has seen the party functioning for many years and has always gone to campaign wherever needed. Members of the Congress will get requests from candidates for campaigning once the scrutiny of nomination papers is compete, Azad said.

The 'G-23' group has triggered several rows through its comments ever since it wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanding organisational overhaul and elections for every post in the party.