JAMMU: The Pradesh Congress in Jammu and Kashmir is facing a serious crisis of trust, and much of it is because of its own mistakes. The party’s growing tilt towards one particular community, while ignoring and sidelining Hindus and the Jammu region in the name of vote bank politics, has pushed it into political isolation. This problem has only grown worse under the leadership of its current Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President, Tariq Hamid Karra, whose controversial actions and soft stance on separatist issues have damaged the party’s image. Many people now see him as a “loose cannon”-an unpredictable leader who has weakened the Congress’s support across the region.
Once a senior functionary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Karra’s controversial stances and inflammatory rhetoric have not only alienated large sections of the party’s traditional support base but also sparked grave concerns about the ideological drift of the Congress in a sensitive border Union Territory. Many of the party functionaries, especially in the Jammu region, regard him as a political liability, whose actions are causing irreversible damage the Congress, already fighting for its survival.
It is high time the Jammu region is treated equally by Congress High Command and given its fair share in leadership opportunities in J&K
Karra’s political journey is marked by ideological inconsistencies and baggage that he has failed to shed. As a paratrooper from the PDP into the Congress fold, he carried with him ideas that were never perceived as nationalist. The PDP’s advocacy of common currency in South Asia starting from Kashmir, joint Indo-Pak control, and self-rule resonate more with separatist inclinations than with the nationalistic commitment.
Perhaps most glaring was Karra’s controversial response during Operation Sindoor, a decisive counter-terror military operation against rogue nation of Pakistan. Instead of unequivocally supporting India’s security forces and government, Karra took the regressive route of equating India and Pakistan by calling for dialogue-putting both nations on the same pedestal in the face of terror.
Under Karra’s leadership, the electoral fortunes of the Congress have nosedived. In the 2024 assembly elections, the party managed to win a mere six seats-all in Muslim-majority constituencies. The Congress has been wiped out in large swathes of Jammu, where the party once had a strong and reliable base. The primary reason behind this mass desertion by Jammu voters is their disillusionment with the party’s increasing soft-separatist undertones-a narrative reinforced by Karra’s rhetoric and policies.
The exodus of voters to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu Division is a direct consequence of the Congress’s ideological drift. Voters in this region, predominantly nationalistic and deeply rooted in the idea of a united India, find no resonance in Karra’s vision. His PDP-style politics-masked in Congress garb-has driven a permanent wedge between the party and its core support base in Jammu.
Alienating the masses was an incident that unfolded during one of Karra’s meetings with Congress workers where slogans of “Nara-e-Takbeer, Allah-o-Akbar” were raised. This slogan, often associated with Islamist narratives in conflict zones, was not only jolting in a so-called secular Congress gathering but also added to the growing perception that the party under Karra is compromising its foundational ideals. The silence of Congress’s Hindu leaders from Jammu on this issue has only aggravated the damage, rendering them irrelevant and estranged from their own constituencies.
The Congress’s refusal to appoint a Hindu Pradesh Congress President in Jammu and Kashmir since independence adds salt to the wound. While leaders from the Valley-often with controversial or questionable leanings-have been repeatedly elevated to top roles, the majority Hindu population of Jammu continues to feel ignored, insulted, and betrayed.
Today, the Congress in J&K stands at a tight rope. The disconnect with ground realities, the unwillingness to course-correct, and the leadership of a figure as polarizing as Tariq Hamid Karra are pushing the party into political oblivion. The question that remains is not whether the Congress can reclaim its past glory, but whether it has already surrendered its soul to an ideology that threatens the unity and integrity of the very nation. If the Congress wants to survive and grow again in Jammu and Kashmir, it must create a genuine balance between the two regions-Jammu and Kashmir Valley. It is high time the Jammu region is treated equally and given its fair share of political representation and leadership opportunities. Only when both regions feel respected and included can the party hope to rebuild its base and regain public trust.
