In a significant development for the Indian National Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, two senior leaders formerly associated with Ghulam Nabi Azad's Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) have rejoined the party on Friday, June 27, 2025. Taj Mohiuddin and Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, both former ministers, were welcomed back into the Congress fold at a ceremony held at the party office in Srinagar.

The homecoming of these leaders is expected to bolster the Congress's prospects in the region. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of J&K and Ladakh, Naseer Hussain, along with Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra and other senior leaders, were present to welcome Mohiuddin and Saroori back to the party.

Both Mohiuddin and Saroori had previously resigned from the Congress in August 2022 to join Ghulam Nabi Azad when he formed the DPAP after ending his five-decade association with the Congress. The DPAP aimed to present itself as an alternative to regional parties like the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, the party struggled to gain traction in the region. In the 2024 assembly elections, DPAP contested 23 seats but failed to win any.

Taj Mohiuddin, a former legislator from the Uri assembly segment in Baramulla district, resigned from the DPAP in August 2024 and contested the assembly polls as an independent candidate, but was unsuccessful. Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, who served as the vice president of the DPAP, also contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Udhampur-Doda Parliamentary constituency but did not win. Saroori had left Azad's party after he was denied a mandate to contest from Inderwal, and he unsuccessfully contested the seat.

Welcoming the leaders back to the party, AICC general secretary Naseer Hussain said it was a moment of happiness for the Congress in Jammu & Kashmir. He noted that these were senior leaders who have served as MLAs and Ministers, and that they had returned after "parting ways with us because of one reason or the other."

Speaking on his return to the Congress, Taj Mohiuddin expressed that he felt like he had never truly left the party. "I am in the party for 40 years. I do not feel like I ever left, I feel I was on leave. I am thankful to party leadership that they forgave my mistake," he stated. Mohiuddin emphasized his long-standing commitment to the Congress, recalling that he stood with the party even when it was unpopular during the peak of militancy in Kashmir. "The party support was behind me always whether I was an MLA or a Minister. I am their culprit and I feel they will forgive me," he added.

Ghulam Mohammad Saroori echoed these sentiments, calling his return a "homecoming." "I am thankful to the party leadership. Humans make mistakes and I apologise for mine," he said, pledging to work towards strengthening the Congress party in the future.

The return of Mohiuddin and Saroori marks a continuation of a trend that has seen several DPAP leaders return to the Congress fold. According to J&K Congress President Tariq Hameed Karra, almost all the leaders who had left the Congress to join DPAP and subsequently left that party have expressed a desire to rejoin the Congress. This exodus from the DPAP follows the party's poor performance in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, leading to a sense of uncertainty about its future. In April 2025, Ghulam Nabi Azad dissolved all party units, including state, provisional, district, and block committees, in what was described as a comprehensive restructuring following the party's poor performance in the recent Kashmir elections.