Mubashir Azad, nephew of veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday. Joining the saffron party, Azad said he was “influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s developmental works at the ground level”.
Azad and his supporters were formally inducted into the BJP today at the party’s headquarters at Trikuta Nagar in Jammu. They were welcomed by Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina and other senior leaders, including ex-MLA Daleep Singh Parihar.
After joining the BJP, Azad said “the (Congress) party is marred in infighting… while under the leadership of Modi the work for the welfare of the people is taking place on the ground.”
The son of Ghulam Nabi Azad’s youngest brother Liaqat Ali, Azad also said his uncle was “disrespected” by the Congress leadership that hurt him and led to him parting ways with the grand old party, reported news agency PTI. However, Azad did not discuss his plan to join the BJP with his uncle, he claimed.
“The way the Congress treated (Ghulam Nabi) Azad, one of the charismatic leaders of the party and former chief minister, has hurt the sentiments of the common masses,” he said.
He further said that PM Modi praised his uncle for his service to the nation but he was sidelined by the party.
Welcoming Azad, Raina said his joining is a “turning point” that will pave the way for more young activists from the Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts of the Chenab Valley region to join the party.
“The BJP is growing fast with the joining of political leaders from opposition parties, social workers from all communities whether Hindus, Muslims, Gujjars, Bakarwals and Paharis,” he said.
Azad’s brother Ghulam Ali had also joined the BJP in April 2009.
In a related development, Congress leader Kuldeep Bhandari and his wife Madhu Bhandari joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today in the presence of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
