Arvinder Singh Lovely, who resigned as Delhi Congress president on Sunday, said he is not joining any other political party. His statement came amid speculation that he might join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi.
Amid the rumours, Lovely clarified that he has resigned as Delhi Congress chief and not from the party. “I have only resigned as Delhi Congress chief and am not joining any political party,” he told PTI.
READ ALSO: 'I am struggling to bring back…' Congress leader on Arvinder Singh Lovely's resignation from Delhi unit chief post
Earlier in the day, ex-Congress MLA Asif Mohammad Khan claimed that the BJP would field Lovely from the East Delhi constituency, replacing Harsh Malhotra. “I can say this: In place of Harsh Malhotra, Lovely will be declared candidate in one or two days…,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Responding to the claims, Lovely said“I thank [AAP leader] Saurabh Bharadwaj for his wishes. I think he makes the decisions on behalf of other parties. I have clearly said that I have resigned as Delhi Congress chief.”
Why did Lovely quit as Delhi Congress chief?
Lovely resigned as party chief in Delhi, citing the alliance with the AAP as one of the reasons. The move came as a setback for the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
He said the Congress' Delhi unit was against the alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) but the party high command went ahead with it.
“The Delhi Congress unit was against an alliance with a party formed solely on the basis of leveling false, fabricated and rogue corruption allegations against the Congress party,” he said in his resignation letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday.
“…Half of the ministers (of the party) are currently in jail on corruption charges,” Lovely added, “despite that, the party (Congress) has taken a decision to form an alliance with the AAP in Delhi”.
“We respected the party's final decision… I even went to the extent of visiting Mr (Arvind) Kejriwal's residence along with Mr Subash Chopra and Mr Sandeep Dikshit on the night of his arrest, despite the same in conflicted with my position on the issue. ,” Lovely was quoted by PTI
'Ideals at risk'
Lovely said his resignation reflected the pain of congressional workers who were saddened that the “ideals they had been fighting for for the past seven to eight years” were in jeopardy.
At a press conference on Sunday, Lovely said, “I have resigned as Delhi Congress chief. “I want to make it clear that I did not resign due to dissatisfaction over tickets (for Lok Sabha polls).”
“We (the Congress and the AAP) are fighting the (Lok Sabha) polls together, but the Congress and its workers have never given a clean chit (to the AAP) or given them the credits to build schools and hospitals,” he added he added.
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Published: Apr 28, 2024 4:50 PM IST