NEW DELHI: Wani has made scores of secretaries and general secretaries in order to keep the state unit active, According to leaders privy to the developments.
After the failure to secure any seats in Jammu region, Congress J&K unit president Vikar Rasool Wani is said to be facing opposition within the party. According to party insiders, Wani doesn’t consider senior leaders in decision making and carries “rookie” politicians along with him by giving them positions in the party.
According to leaders privy to the developments, Wani has made scores of secretaries and general secretaries in order to keep the state unit active. A senior Congress leader said, “What will he do with around 70 secretaries and general secretaries. An organisation is run when the chain of command is strong. When there are so many leaders whatever would be said by the president would naturally get diluted. Moreover, no there is no respect for the positions as it can be given to anyone.”
According to the talks in the political circles in the union territory, Ghulam Ahmed Mir is preparing a weak political player, who could replace Viqar Rasool Wani as the president. A leader said, “Mir is AICC general secretary, he has access not only to the power centres of the party but also to the nerve centre of the party. He can influence decisions regarding Jammu and Kashmir. And therefore he will try his best to lay a political network for himself which will help his power to grow within the party. He wouldn’t want any competitor.”
There is an impression among senior leaders working with Mir that he is trying to size down all the potential Congress leaders in the Jammu and Kashmir so that his leadership evolves into a penultimate one and has no match in the state, making him an important leader from Jammu and Kashmir, which will eventually bring him closer to the power centres of Congress.
Another thing that is resonating among Congress leaders in J&K is that the exodus of party leaders that happened because of Mir’s incapability to handle several crisis as the state unit president during his tenure between 2015 to 2022, with some claiming that he was unable to hold the party together. However, there is a reasonable explanation from leaders close to Mir that his tenure was undermined by Ghulam Nabi Azad and therefore he felt choked during every crisis management as Azad would have a greater say in every shaky situation.
A senior Congress leader said, “His capability is questionable, don’t want to talk about him in particular, but there are a few top leaders in AICC who want to do good only to themselves. And if someone serves them in that pursuit, they would be their friends. Else they turn to be their rival groups. Moreover, the sincere leaders are rested because they don’t know how to channel money into the pockets of those who elevate leaders on higher positions.”