This is an archive article published on August 31, 2023
Arvinder Singh Lovely returns as Delhi Congress chief; road to Lok Sabha seat sharing agreement with AAP in capital now clear, say party insiders
This is the second time Lovely has been appointed the chief of the Congress Delhi unit. He was the party’s Delhi president in 2015 when he was asked to step down, after which he had left the Congress and joined the BJP albeit only for nine months before returning.
2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Sep 1, 2023 10:08 AM IST
A strongman from East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar Assembly constituency, Lovely was a frontrunner for the post along with leaders such as Devender Yadav and Sandeep Dikshit. (File)
Arvinder Singh Lovely returns as Delhi Congress chief; road to Lok Sabha seat sharing agreement with AAP in capital now clear, say party insiders
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The Congress has appointed former Delhi minister Arvinder Singh Lovely the president of its state unit following several months of deliberations.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal announced the decision in a statement Thursday morning as the INDIA bloc meeting got underway in Mumbai.
Party sources said the move had paved the way for an alliance between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — especially in terms of a seat-sharing agreement — in Delhi for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
This is the second time Lovely has been appointed the chief of the Congress Delhi unit. He was the party’s Delhi president in 2015 when he was asked to step down, after which he had left the Congress and joined the BJP albeit only for nine months before returning.
Considered a prominent Sikh face in Delhi’s politics, Lovely is a former minister who held significant portfolios such as transport, education, revenue, and urban development among others and one of the key figures of the cabinet from each of the three consecutive governments led by Sheila Dikshit in the national capital.
A strongman from East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar Assembly constituency, Lovely was a frontrunner for the post along with leaders such as Devender Yadav and Sandeep Dikshit.
Party insiders said Lovely was considered a key individual regarding the party’s decision to support the AAP from outside enabling it to form the government in the Capital with the help of eight Congress MLAs in 2013.
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“He is considered to play a key role in ensuring that the party’s cadre falls in line in regards to a seat-sharing agreement with the AAP in Delhi for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” a source said.
“Lovely is also a probable Lok Sabha candidate for the party for the general elections and may contest from the East Delhi constituency, from where he was fielded in 2019,” a party leader said.
Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with the national political bureau of The Indian Express. With over 16 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is a seasoned expert in national governance, electoral politics, and bureaucratic affairs. Having covered high-stakes beats including the Election Commission of India (ECI), intelligence, and urban development, Jatin provides authoritative analysis of the forces shaping Indian democracy. He is an alumnus of Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU) and the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, where he specialized in Print Journalism.
Expertise
High-Stakes Beat Coverage: Throughout his decade-and-a-half career, Jatin has covered some of the most sensitive and influential beats in the country, including:
The Election Commission of India (ECI): Monitoring electoral policy, reforms, and the conduct of national and state polls.
National Security & Intelligence: Reporting on the internal mechanisms and developments within India's security apparatus.
Urban Development: Analyzing the policies and bureaucratic processes driving the transformation of India’s cities.
National Political Bureau: In his current role, he tracks the intersection of policy and politics, offering deep-dive reporting on the Union government and national political movements.
Academic Credentials:
Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU): Alumnus of one of Delhi's premier institutions.
Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai: Specialized in Print Journalism at India's most prestigious journalism school. ... Read More
