NEW DELHI: Congress party‘s Delhi unit chief, Arvinder Singh Lovely, has tendered his resignation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. He cited the alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as one of the reasons. He said the Delhi Congress unit was against the alliance but the party high command went ahead with it.
He clarified that he has only resigned as chief of the Congress’ Delhi unit and is not joining any other political party.
His clarification came after Congress ex-MLA Asif Mohammad Khan claimed that the BJP would field Lovely from the East Delhi constituency, replacing Harsh Malhotra.
“I have only resigned as Delhi Congress chief and I am not joining any political party,” he said at a press conference at his residence.
Lovely said his resignation reflected the pain of Congress workers saddened by the fact that the “ideals they had been fighting for during the last seven to eight years” were being compromised.
In his resignation letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lovely expressed his “handicap” in the role, as all unanimous decisions taken by senior Delhi unit leaders have been “unilaterally vetoed” by AICC Delhi in-charge Deepak Babria.
Lovely’s discontentment stems partly from the Congress’ decision to form an alliance with the AAP, a move that he claims the Delhi Congress unit opposed.
In his letter to Kharge, Lovely said, “It is with a heavy heart that I write the present letter to you finding myself handicapped and unable to continue as the President of the Delhi party unit.”
“I had gratefully accepted the role as the DPCC President with the sole objective of supporting the local Congress party workers with whom I have an extremely close connection and life-long association.
“However, since I cannot protect the interests of the party workers, I see no reason to continue in the said post. Therefore, with great regret and an extremely leaden heart, I, Arvinder Singh Lovely, do hereby tender my resignation from the post of DPCC President,” he said.
Furthermore, Lovely criticized the selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, particularly targeting North East Delhi candidate Kanhaiya Kumar for praising Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, currently embroiled in a money laundering case.
“The candidate from North East Delhi has also been giving media bytes falsely praising the Delhi CM, in direct contravention of the party line and the local party workers’ beliefs,” Lovely said.
“In direct contradiction to the true factual position and the misery of Delhi Citizens, he endorsed the false propaganda of AAP in regard to the supposed works done by them in education, health, road and electricity sectors,” he said.
“Such ill-thought and factually incorrect statements have not gone down well” with the Delhi Congress unit since “the local party workers had an inherent understanding that the alliance was not done in appreciation of AAP’s false propaganda of the development of Delhi,” he said.
The resignation comes amidst mounting dissatisfaction within the Congress ranks over ticket distribution and leadership decisions. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva attributed Lovely’s resignation to growing discontent among party members, while senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj viewed it as an internal matter of the Congress.
The Congress and the AAP are constituents of the INDIA bloc formed by opposition parties to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. While the AAP is contesting four Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, the Congress has fielded candidates on three.
The BJP had won all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in the 2014 and 2019 general elections.
Sandeep Dikshit, a Congress leader, acknowledged the concerns raised by Lovely and emphasized the need to address them. With Lovely’s departure, the Congress faces challenges in maintaining unity and addressing internal dissent, particularly as the Lok Sabha elections progress.
Lovely, a seasoned politician, previously served as a minister in the Sheila Dikshit government and contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi constituency against BJP’s Gautam Gambhir and AAP’s Atishi.
(With inputs from agencies)
He clarified that he has only resigned as chief of the Congress’ Delhi unit and is not joining any other political party.
His clarification came after Congress ex-MLA Asif Mohammad Khan claimed that the BJP would field Lovely from the East Delhi constituency, replacing Harsh Malhotra.
“I have only resigned as Delhi Congress chief and I am not joining any political party,” he said at a press conference at his residence.
Lovely said his resignation reflected the pain of Congress workers saddened by the fact that the “ideals they had been fighting for during the last seven to eight years” were being compromised.
In his resignation letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lovely expressed his “handicap” in the role, as all unanimous decisions taken by senior Delhi unit leaders have been “unilaterally vetoed” by AICC Delhi in-charge Deepak Babria.
Lovely’s discontentment stems partly from the Congress’ decision to form an alliance with the AAP, a move that he claims the Delhi Congress unit opposed.
In his letter to Kharge, Lovely said, “It is with a heavy heart that I write the present letter to you finding myself handicapped and unable to continue as the President of the Delhi party unit.”
“I had gratefully accepted the role as the DPCC President with the sole objective of supporting the local Congress party workers with whom I have an extremely close connection and life-long association.
“However, since I cannot protect the interests of the party workers, I see no reason to continue in the said post. Therefore, with great regret and an extremely leaden heart, I, Arvinder Singh Lovely, do hereby tender my resignation from the post of DPCC President,” he said.
Furthermore, Lovely criticized the selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, particularly targeting North East Delhi candidate Kanhaiya Kumar for praising Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, currently embroiled in a money laundering case.
“The candidate from North East Delhi has also been giving media bytes falsely praising the Delhi CM, in direct contravention of the party line and the local party workers’ beliefs,” Lovely said.
“In direct contradiction to the true factual position and the misery of Delhi Citizens, he endorsed the false propaganda of AAP in regard to the supposed works done by them in education, health, road and electricity sectors,” he said.
“Such ill-thought and factually incorrect statements have not gone down well” with the Delhi Congress unit since “the local party workers had an inherent understanding that the alliance was not done in appreciation of AAP’s false propaganda of the development of Delhi,” he said.
The resignation comes amidst mounting dissatisfaction within the Congress ranks over ticket distribution and leadership decisions. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva attributed Lovely’s resignation to growing discontent among party members, while senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj viewed it as an internal matter of the Congress.
The Congress and the AAP are constituents of the INDIA bloc formed by opposition parties to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. While the AAP is contesting four Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, the Congress has fielded candidates on three.
The BJP had won all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in the 2014 and 2019 general elections.
Sandeep Dikshit, a Congress leader, acknowledged the concerns raised by Lovely and emphasized the need to address them. With Lovely’s departure, the Congress faces challenges in maintaining unity and addressing internal dissent, particularly as the Lok Sabha elections progress.
Lovely, a seasoned politician, previously served as a minister in the Sheila Dikshit government and contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi constituency against BJP’s Gautam Gambhir and AAP’s Atishi.
(With inputs from agencies)
