LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Saturday took a dig at the Congress after the resignation of Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

“Several people are getting independence from Congress. Ghulam Nabi ji is also one of them. I think after some time, only Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will remain in the party”, said Maurya.

In a shocker to the Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad had resigned from the party, last day. He is a prominent face among the rebel G-23 leaders, who had demanded a change in the party leadership. Following Azad’s resignation, six more Congress MLAs namely R S Chib, G M Saroori, Haji Abdul Rashid, Mohd Amin Bhat, Gulzar Ahmad Wani and Choudhary Mohd Akram had also quit the party.

Azad’s resignation comes ahead of the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra, targeting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, led by Rahul Gandhi from September 8 onwards. With Azad’s resignation, the party’s plan to regain power in Jammu and Kashmir has also reached a standstill.

Ghulam Nabi Azad had publicly expressed dissatisfaction after stepping down from the Jammu and Kashmir poll committees, following which he resigned from all posts and the party’s primary membership. The leader is currently planning to remain active in Jammu and Kashmir itself. Although he had suggested about not joining the BJP, he has not raised much criticism against the party so far. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had opined in the Rajya Sabha that Azad was not given adequate support by the Congress.