Jammu, Sep 3 (PTI) Congress leader and former legislator from Jammu and Kashmir Ashok Sharma on Saturday wrote to party president Sonia Gandhi and resigned from the organisation.The national coordinator of the All India Congress Committee’s "Vichar Vibhag" and a member Pradesh Executive Committee, stated that he took the "painful" decision due to the "prevailing situation and unavoidable circumstances".His resignation came close on the heels of an ex-deputy chief minister, eight former ministers, an ex-MP, nine legislators and a large number of Panchayati Raj Institution members, municipal corporators and grassroots workers from across Jammu and Kashmir left the Congress to join the Ghulam Nabi Azad camp.Azad, 73, ended his five-decade association with the Congress on August 26, terming the party "comprehensively destroyed". He also lashed out at Rahul Gandhi for "demolishing" the party"s entire consultative mechanism.In his letter, Sharma who had won the assembly elections from Kalakote constituency of Rajouri district in 1996, said, "I loved my party from the core of my heart and fought for building it at the grass-root level for decades together from smaller territorial units to many states of the country." Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party on Saturday expelled a senior leader for "anti-party" activities."Farooq Ahmad Khayal, provincial secretary Jammu has failed to fulfil the aspirations of the party despite repeated requests made to him from time to time. On the other hand, he has been found indulging in anti-party activities," provincial president Manjit Singh said.Expelling Khayal with immediate effect, Singh said the decision was taken in the interest of the party. PTI TAS NSD NSD