Ghulam Nabi Azad to announce new political party within 10 days

|HT|

Weeks after he had quit the Congress, veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said that he would announce a new political party within 10 days. The 73-year-old leader had an acrimonious exit from the grand old party last month after raising issues about the internal functioning of the Congress multiple times.

Azad - amid a show of strength in Baramulla - addressed a presser on Sunday. He has been holding public meetings in Jammu also to fortify his electoral base. "We will announce a new party in ten days," he said.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister has said his supporters have multiplied after leaving the Congress. Multiple party leaders have quit ever since Ghulam Nabi Azad revealed his decision to resign in a huge blow to the the party. He had been associated with the Congress for nearly five decades.

On Saturday, the veteran leader said that he had “met around 400 people from delegations of 30-35 assembly constituencies in Jammu.” “They gave their support… and they will be a part of whatever party I make,” he asserted.

Sunday's rally is GN Azad's first since his departure from the Congress. After the Baramulla rally, Azad will be holding separate rallies in Kupwara and south Kashmir. His choice of holding the first rally in Baramulla is an indication of the electoral significance being attached to the place.

GN Azad's efforts to mobilise support are also being captured in pictures he has been sharing on social media.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)