Srinagar, Aug 7: Four former legislators and a sitting district development council member from Jammu & Kashmir are set to join Congress on Monday in New Delhi.

Sources told the news agency KNO that former MLC Naresh Gupta, ex-MLA Yashpal Kundal, former MLA Haji Abdul Rashid, former MLC Sham Lal Bhagat, and several other leaders, including Taranjeet Singh Tony (DDC member), are set to join Congress on Monday.

Three of these former legislators were with Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP). The exit is seen as a major setback for DPAP, led by Ghulam Nabi Azad, which was formed by him after quitting Congress.

Sources told KNO that Congress has opened channels of communication with its different leaders who had deserted the party after August 5, 2019.

“We are hopeful of the return of these leaders,” a senior Congress leader said.