SrinagarJul 4, 2025 08:00 IST First published on: Jul 4, 2025 at 08:00 ISTShareFor the Congress, when one problem is resolved, another seemingly crops up in short order. As soon as the differences in the Karnataka unit appear to have been put to rest for the time being, the Congress’s Jammu and Kashmir unit has a full-blown rebellion on its hands. And not for the first time.A section of J&K Congress has rebelled against J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra for allegedly sidelining senior leaders, several of whom are pushing back and want him to be replaced. While this is not the first time that infighting has led to calls for the removal of the Pradesh Congress president, it is the first time that a group of leaders from Jammu has sought a separate Pradesh Congress unit.“There is huge resentment against him (Karra),” said a senior leader, who is part of the group that had written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking a meeting with him. “He has sidelined the senior leaders and created a coterie of people, who are outsiders (those who have joined the party coming from other parties). We are not being consulted.”Among the leaders whose return to the party fold has not gone down well are Taj Mohiudin and G M Saroori. However, according to the pro-Karra camp, the state Congress president had nothing to do with their return and the high command took the decision.A disgruntled leader said the dissatisfaction had reached such a point that the Jammu leadership is seeking a separate Pradesh Congress unit. In Maharashtra, the Congress has an overall Pradesh Congress Committee for the state and an independent Mumbai Regional Congress Committee.Leaders loyal to Karra, however, see this as a BJP-RSS ploy to sow divisions in the party. “The trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir was always an RSS agenda, and they are now making calls to implement it. As Rahul (Gandhi) ji says, there are BJP sleeper cells in Congress. These leaders are among those sleeper cells,” said one such leader.“We lost the elections because of him,” alleged another. Despite dissatisfaction against the BJP-led government at the Centre, the Congress failed to register an impressive performance in the Assembly elections last year, winning only six seats, including five in the Valley and one (Rajouri) in Jammu.The Congress functionary alleged that the dissidents were “deliberately instigating” some party workers to keep their positions safe. “There are four or five leaders. One of them was a former Pradesh Congress president. He could not digest the fact that he was divested of his post. Two other leaders have always benefited from infighting in the Congress. They have no standing in the party and have benefitted from conflict by pitting Congress workers against each other and managing to get themselves well placed in the party”.A recurring themeThis is not the first time the J&K Congress president is facing pushback from his party colleagues. In the last decade, all four people to have held the post have faced revolts.In 2015, then Pradesh Congress president Saifuddin Soz faced a rebellion when many party leaders seen as close to then senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad demanded his resignation. It ended with Ghulam Ahmad Mir replacing Soz. But, Azad loyalists were not on board with Mir’s elevation, and the latter faced many rebellions in his six-year tenure.After Mir, Vikar Rasool Wani took charge of J&K Congress. However, his tenure, too, was marred by the dissent from the party rank and file, leading to the party choosing Karra.Karra, however, enjoys the backing of Mir, who is now a member of the Congress Working Committee. While their win in the Assembly polls has bolstered their position in the PCC, the dissidents either did not contest the polls or lost.“He (Mir) has been a former state president. He is well aware of the machinations of the party leaders. It is the same set of people who were first against Soz sahib, then Mir sahib, and now Karra sahib,” said a leader in the Karra camp.