J&K gets huge shock in Congress as 51 leaders quit and join Ghulam Nabi Azad's party

At least 51 in J&K; Congress leaders will join Ghulam Nabi Azad's new party

After Azad's resignation, 64 leaders leave the Congress

Azad quits the Congress on August 26 with a strongly worded resignation

Even as the resignation of senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad caught the Congress by surprise, the worst seems to be over as 51 leaders are set to quit and join Azad's new political leadership party. Since Azad resigned, 64 leaders have left the party.

Among the leaders is former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Tarachand, who resigned here on Tuesday in favor of Ghulam Nabi Azad.

They sent a joint farewell letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Chand and several others, including former ministers Abdul Majid Wani, Manohar Lal Sharma, Gharu Ram and former MLA Balwan Singh, announced their exit from their party, including its core members, at a press conference.

"We have sent a joint resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in support of Azad," said Bharwan Singh.

Azad, the 73-year-old former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, ended his five-year association with the Congress on Friday, saying the party was "completely destroyed" and criticized Rahul Gandhi for "destroying" its entire negotiating machinery. He will soon launch a national party from Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides hundreds of Panchayati Raj Institute (PRI) members, municipal corporations and district and district-level leaders, more than a dozen prominent Congress leaders, including former ministers and legislators, have quit the Congress to join Azad.