In what is being viewed as a shot in the arm for Congress in Jammu and Kashmir, former deputy state chief Tara Chand and several other politicians who resigned after Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the party, rejoined the political outfit on Friday.
Among other prominent names who have returned to the party fold are ex-minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Muzaffar Parray, and Balwan Singh.
The development was confirmed by the party's general secretary, K.C. Venugopal, in New Delhi Friday morning.
"This is a big day for Congress," Venugopal told reporters in the national capital.
Regarded as a loyalist of Azad, Chand ended his association with the Congress to join his party, the Democratic Azad Party (DAP) which the former Jammu and Kashmir state chief formed after leaving India's main opposition party.
After reviving his old ties with Congress, Tara Chand said, "I had an emotional relationship with Ghulam Nabi Azad and decided to quit the party to go with him, and now when emotions are down I decided to come back to our party which has given so much to us."
The major churn in the political circles of Jammu and Kashmir comes days ahead of Rahul Gandhi's Unity March's entry into the erstwhile state and present union territory.
The Gandhi scion's march, dubbed the largest public campaign since independence, is currently passing through the BJP-governed state of Uttar Pradesh.
It is scheduled to reach Jammu and Kashmir on January 20, before culminating in its capital Srinagar a week later.