Who is Gourav Vallabh, the latest leader to resign from Congress and join BJP?

Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh resigned citing the party's lack of direction and stand on issues such as the caste census, the Ram Temple, and Sanatan Dharma.

Gourav Vallabh's resignation comes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and on the heels of other Congress leaders such as Olympian boxer Vijender Singh and former MP Sanjay Nirupam. (Express File Photo)

Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh, who represented the party on several panels, resigned and joined the BJP Thursday, citing the party’s lack of direction and stand on issues such as the caste census, the Ram Temple, and Sanatan Dharma.

Posting his resignation letter on X, Vallabh wrote, “I am uncomfortable with the directionless way, in which the Congress Party is moving forward today. I can neither raise anti-Sanatan slogans nor abuse the wealth creators of the country all day long, which is why I I am resigning from all posts and primary membership of Congress Party.”

कांग्रेस पार्टी आज जिस प्रकार से दिशाहीन होकर आगे बढ़ रही है,उसमें मैं ख़ुद को सहज महसूस नहीं कर पा रहा.मैं ना तो सनातन विरोधी नारे लगा सकता हूं और ना ही सुबह-शाम देश के वेल्थ क्रिएटर्स को गाली दे सकता.इसलिए मैं कांग्रेस पार्टी के सभी पदों व प्राथमिक सदस्यता से इस्तीफ़ा दे रहाहूं pic.twitter.com/Xp9nFO80I6

— Prof. Gourav Vallabh (@GouravVallabh) April 4, 2024

Vallabh’s resignation comes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and at a time when multiple Congress leaders, such as Olympian boxer Vijender Singh and former MP Sanjay Nirupam.

Also Read | ‘Can’t raise anti-Sanatan slogans, abuse wealth creators’: Gourav Vallabh resigns from Congress

Who is Gourav Vallabh?

The former Congress spokesperson, a professor of finance Xavier School of Management (XLRI) in Jamshedpur, is perhaps best known for his debate with BJP media panelist Sambit Patra in 2019.

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While discussing the Modi government’s assertion that India will be a $5 trillion economy by 2024, Vallabh had scoffed at the idea and asked the BJP spokesperson whether he knew “how many zeroes are there in a trillion?”, leaving Patra stumped. When Patra tried to deflect, he went on to school him about the number of zeros in a trillion, billion and million. The video clip of the debate subsequently went viral on social media, catapulting Vallabh to the spotlight.

The 47-year-old academic, who holds a doctorate in credit risk assessment, is a certified financial risk manager, chartered accountant (ICAI) and company secretary. He also holds LLB, MCom degrees, as per XLRI.

He started his association with the Indian National Congress in 2017, and in 2018 he was spotted by Randeep Surjewala, who asked him to represent the party on television debates.

In 2022, Vallabh had slammed Shashi Tharoor saying his “only major contribution” to the party was to send letters to Sonia Gandhi when she was hospitalised.

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In the 2023 Rajasthan assembly election, Vallabh had unsuccessfully contested from the Udaipur constituency. His electoral journey, however, had commenced in 2019 when he had contested from the Jamshedpur East constituency. INC stood third in the election.