Arteev Sharma
Jammu: The “unprecedented and inexplicable delay” in constituting the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) in Jammu and Kashmir has come under scrutiny within the Congress, with local leaders and workers alleging that the party leadership was “prioritising individual loyalties” over the “long-serving hardcore party loyalists”.
If party insiders are to be believed, the Congress high command has taken “serious exception” to the failure to comply with its directive to constitute the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) by the August 20 deadline. The central leadership has reportedly sought an explanation from the Union Territory leadership over the “lack of progress”, even after nearly two months had passed beyond the stipulated date.
The executive body of the PCC has remained unformed even after Tariq Hamid Karra was appointed president of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress on August 16, 2024.
The insiders said the delay has also raised questions about JKPCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra’s “intent” to constitute the PCC, alleging that the organisational exercise was being “deliberately deferred to prevent decentralisation within the party and deny key positions to long-standing Congress loyalists in Jammu and Kashmir”.
“Following a series of complaints to the high command, the party’s central leadership took serious note of the prolonged delay in constituting the PCC in July this year and questioned the failure of the UT leadership to make progress on the matter, nearly two years after Karra’s appointment as JKPCC chief,” the insiders said, adding “the failure to meet the August 20 deadline has further raised concerns within the organisation”.
Some party functionaries believe that the delay reflects “persistent factionalism” and competing claims over positions in the proposed executive committee. They alleged that efforts to accommodate different groups, regional interests and community representation had complicated the exercise.
“The prolonged uncertainty has raised questions about the functioning of the party organisation at a time when the Congress is seeking to strengthen its political presence and mobilise its cadre,” a senior leader said who wished not to be named.
The leader said that the absence of a well structured leadership team has left the organisation in a state of disarray when the party’s central leadership was making efforts to regain lost ground across the country amid protests over alleged irregularities in the electoral system.
“Several leaders, including district- and block-level functionaries, have expressed concern that the delay was affecting organisational coordination, planning and grassroots mobilisation. The incumbent JKPCC chief’s appointment had raised hopes of reinvigorating the party cadre, but the absence of a structured executive has stalled the momentum and brought his leadership under scrutiny,” the leader said while admitting that “Indecision and internal differences are costing the party heavily on political front”.
The leader further said, “There is no denial in fact that Karra has been facing the challenge of balancing competing factional interests, with different groups seeking greater representation in the proposed executive committee. At the same time, individual preferences over hardcore loyalists are another major reason for delay in constitution of the much-awaited PCC”.
