New Delhi:
Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely today resigned as the party's Delhi unit chief over the alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Arvinder Singh Lovely said several AAP ministers have been jailed on corruption charges but the Congress has nevertheless formed an alliance with them for the Lok Sabha elections amid opposition from party workers.
Mr. Lovely, in a letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, said that since he cannot protect the interests of Delhi's Congress workers, he sees no reason to continue as head of the city's party wing.
“The Delhi Congress Unit was against an alliance with a party (AAP) formed solely on the basis of leveling false, fabricated and rogue corruption charges against the Congress. Despite this, the party took a decision to ally with the AAP in Delhi,” he said.
He said the party gave Lok Sabha tickets to candidates who were “complete strangers” to the Delhi Congress unit, referring to the candidature of Udit Raj in North-West Delhi and Kanhaiya Kumar in North-East Delhi.
The party high command's decision to field Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj for the elections has created friction among party leaders in Delhi, sources said.
Party leaders, according to sources, are not willing to compromise as the AICC and the high command ignored their views and concerns. “Several leaders from Delhi are also planning to join the BJP or form a new party if their issues are not resolved, sources told NDTV.
Referring to internal divisions, Mr Lovely also alleged that several decisions taken by him as Delhi Congress chief were vetoed by the AICC General Secretary (who was in charge of Delhi).
“Since my appointment as DPCC president, the AICC general secretary (who is in charge in Delhi) has not allowed me to take senior appointments in the DPCC,” he said.
Arvinder Singh Lovely was appointed Delhi Congress president in August last year.
The Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress had earlier this year agreed to a 4:3 seat-sharing formula for Delhi to jointly contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In Delhi, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is contesting four of the seven seats: West Delhi, South Delhi, East Delhi and New Delhi. The remaining three – North-East Delhi, North-West Delhi and Chandni Chowk – belong to the grand old party.
Seat sharing has been one of the biggest problems for the INDIA bloc as the aspirations of regional parties have delayed negotiations. Congress's recent electoral setbacks in three core states have emboldened regional powers to seek a higher share of seats.
The INDIA bloc, which was formed last year to take on the BJP, has already lost two key members – Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United and Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtra Lok Dal. Both have joined the BJP.