'Only Congress can challenge BJP in Gujarat and Himachal': Ghulam Nabi Azad's surprise praise for Congress
In a surprise remark months after quitting the Congress, veteran Indian politician Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday heaped praises upon the grand old party wishing it to succeed in poll-bound states Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which are set for a three-cornered fight this winter.
Speaking to ANI, Azad said he was not against Congress' "secularism" but its "system".
The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said as quoted by NDTV, "Although I have separated from Congress, I wasn't against their policy of secularism. It was only due to the party's system getting weakened.
"I would still want Congress to perform well in Gujarat and HP Assembly polls. AAP isn't capable to do so."
Though the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) routed Congress from Punjab earlier this year, Azad felt Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's outfit, which is challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aggressively, is not capable of winning the two states.
"AAP is merely a party of UT Delhi. They can't run Punjab efficiently, only Congress can challenge BJP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh as they have an inclusive policy," the senior politician, who has floated his own party Democratic Azad Party, said.
The two states, both currently ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP, will go to polls in November and December with the results coming out on Dec 8.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.