Azad, 73, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, ended his five-decade association with the Congress on Friday, terming the party “comprehensively destroyed.”
More than 50 senior Congress leaders, including former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Tara Chand, resigned from the party in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad here on Tuesday.
They submitted a joint resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Chand and several others, including former ministers Abdul Majid Wani, Manohar Lal Sharma, Gharu Ram and former MLA Balwan Singh, announced their resignations from their party, including its primary membership, at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Azad is scheduled to reach Jammu on September 4. He has announced floating a new party beginning with Jammu and Kashmir where assembly polls are due.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina said his party is capable of winning the next assembly elections on its own strength.
“Azad’s resignation exposed Congress leadership, what he is going to do next is his own decision. If he has decided to float his own party, nobody can stop him,” he said.
