Delhi Congress gets another jolt as 2 former MLAs resign: ‘Can’t even convince own family to vote for alliance…forget workers’

Last week, former Delhi Congress minister Rajkumar Chauhan had taken the same route. Congress sources continued to maintain that more resignations would follow.

While those who’ve left have not joined the BJP or any other opposition party so far, sources claimed rebel Delhi Congress leaders were likely to do so after the filing of nominations for the Lok Sabha polls end on May 6. As per sources among the rebel MLAs, forming “an anti-corruption outfit” specifically against the AAP government was also “a possibility”.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Singh said: “Is this what politics has come to that you (Congress high command) are standing beside a party which ran you into the ground on the basis of just propaganda and false allegations? You chose them over the family of Ahmed Patel in Gujarat? My self-respect did not allow me to continue like this.”

“This person (Arvind Kejriwal) wanted to snatch Rajiv Gandhi’s Bharat Ratna, announced that he would take just two hours interrogating Sonia Gandhi and Sheila Dikshit and they would accept they were corrupt… We can’t even convince our own family to vote for the (AAP-Congress) alliance, how can we convince our workers?” he asked.

Basoya questioned the Congress high command’s decision to ally with the AAP and of being unsuccessful in communicating and convincing its cadre in the city of the objective behind it. “When Sonia ji was the president, decisions used to be made on the basis of consensus, unlike now… let alone convincing, they (the high command) have not even been able to communicate how to move ahead with the alliance,” Basoya told The Indian Express.

“This was the best time to revive the Congress in Delhi but they decided to do this instead… AAP is responsible for the political death of the Congress on the basis of lies… Overnight, we are supposed to forget how they abused our leaders, including Sonia ji, and stand together with them?” he asked.

Both leaders had met Lovely on the day of his resignation.

While speculation regarding a “new front” gained credence among a section of the Delhi Congress, insiders “in support of the high command” called those exiting “at this crucial juncture” “opportunists” trying to secure “BJP tickets” for the 2025 Assembly elections.

A senior Delhi Congress leader said: “There were around 40 Congress MLAs who won in 2003 of whom six are no longer alive; four are in BJP; two in AAP; four, including Lovely, have more or less left the party — which leaves around 24. They seem to have their numbers wrong… These are just opportunists trying to secure a BJP ticket for the Assembly polls.”

In his resignation, Basoya said the AAP-Congress alliance was bringing “disrepute and embarrassment” to Delhi Congress workers. Singh termed the AAP “a haven of corruption” and accused the high command of exhibiting “a total disregard for the views of Delhi Congress leaders” by allying with it and by fielding “two complete outsiders” who had “no connection” with its ideology from the Northwest and Northeast Delhi seats.