Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 17: The rejoining of former minister Choudhary Gharu Ram in the Congress is being seen as another strong indication that the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), founded by veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, has nearly faded from the political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir.
Choudhary Gharu Ram was among the few prominent leaders who had continued to remain with the DPAP even after several senior figures and long-time loyalists of Azad — including Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, Jugal Kishore Sharma and Abdul Majid Wani — had already parted ways with the party.
Political circles are now rife with speculation that Azad himself may be quietly encouraging his loyalists to seek political rehabilitation elsewhere. With the former Chief Minister increasingly appearing to step back from active politics, insiders believe he does not want the political careers of his long-time supporters to stagnate within a party that is rapidly losing relevance.
In November 2025, former ministers Jugal Kishore Sharma from Reasi and Abdul Majid Wani from Doda, along with former MLC Subash Gupta from Kathua, rejoined the Indian National Congress in the presence of senior party leadership. All three leaders had been closely associated with Azad for decades. Their return followed the earlier exit of another key aide, Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, who had rejoined the Congress in June 2025.
The Democratic Progressive Azad Party was launched on September 26, 2022, soon after Azad resigned from the Congress. It was projected as a regional political alternative in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in the changing political environment following the abrogation of Revocation of Article 370. However, nearly three years later, the party appears to have reached a political dead end.
The signs of decline surfaced early. On January 6, 2023, seventeen close associates of Azad — including former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and former Congress president Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed — returned to the Congress fold. Just four days later, another senior leader, former MLC Nizamuddin Khatana, along with his son, also resigned from the party.
On September 7, 2024, veteran loyalist Manohar Lal Sharma returned to the Congress to contest the Assembly elections from Billawar.
The exodus continued on June 27, 2025, when former ministers Ghulam Mohiuddin Saroori and Taj Mohiuddin — two of Azad’s closest confidants — also rejoined the Congress.
DPAP’s electoral performance further compounded its troubles. The party failed to win a single seat in both the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Of the 23 Assembly constituencies it contested, five of its candidates secured fewer votes than the None of the Above (NOTA) option, reflecting the party’s sharply declining public support.
In what many observers interpreted as a sign of deep internal crisis, Azad dissolved all DPAP committees — at the state, provincial, zonal, district and block levels — on April 14, 2025. While the official explanation described the move as part of a “restructuring exercise,” political analysts viewed it as an attempt to salvage an organisation already struggling to survive.
“The dissolution looked less like restructuring and more like surrender,” said a senior political analyst. “Most of the party’s key leaders had either defected or gone silent, leaving the organisation hollow from within.” |
