Sharma served as a minister in the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed–led PDP–Congress coalition between 2000 and 2005, and again under Azad’s government from 2005 to 2008. Wani held a ministerial berth in the Azad administration. Both left the Congress in 2022 to join Azad’s newly launched outfit. Their return is described by Congress functionaries as a “home-coming” following the party’s poor electoral performance and the DPAP’s faltering momentum in the Union Territory.
The shift reflects broader turbulence within the DPAP. Azad’s party, launched in September 2022, had aimed to challenge established regional formations but has seen several senior figures decamp back to the parent party. Former deputy chief minister Tara Chand, former PCC chief Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, former ministers Ghulam Mohammad Saroori and Taj Mohiuddin had already rejoined the Congress in earlier phases. A senior Congress leader said the DPAP’s failure to make an impact in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections accelerated the reverse migration.
From the Congress perspective, the returnees strengthen the party’s prospects in the Jammu region, where it has struggled to assert itself against the Bharatiya Janata Party and regional rivals. At the induction event, JKPCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra welcomed the leaders and described the development as consolidating the party’s status as the principal opposition force in the Union Territory.
However, the move did prompt criticism from within. An unnamed Congress critic characterised the returning leaders as “deadwood” and questioned their electoral appeal in Jammu & Kashmir, recalling the party’s catastrophic run of eight Assembly losses and a Lok Sabha defeat since Azad’s departure.
Azad, a veteran parliamentarian and former Union minister, left the Congress in August 2022 to form the DPAP and positioned himself as a pan-regional player across the Union Territory. But the departure of Sharma, Wani and others may signal shrinking influence for his outfit just over three years after its launch.
For Sharma and Wani the timing aligns with political pragmatism. Both contested the last Assembly elections in the Vaishno Devi and Doda constituencies respectively under the DPAP banner and emerged empty-handed. Their re-entry into the Congress folds positions the party to harness their local networks and experience ahead of forthcoming regional polls.
Observers point out that while the Congress has regained some personnel, it still faces structural challenges in Jammu & Kashmir — weak leadership, organisational gaps and an electoral base lagging behind the newer political dynamic in the Union Territory. The return of the defectors offers a tactical boost but does not immediately resolve the party’s systemic deficits.
The DPAP, meanwhile, now confronts the dual challenge of managing reputational damage and re-engineering its strategy for survival. Azad’s narrow base outside the Jammu region and limited electoral gains have sharpened questions about the party’s long-term viability.