In a significant development within the Delhi Congress, Arvinder Singh Lovely has tendered his resignation from the position of Delhi Congress president. His departure comes amidst growing discontent within the party ranks over the decision to forge an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In a strongly-worded statement, Lovely expressed his dissatisfaction with the party's decision to align with the AAP, a party he accused of being founded on the basis of "false, fabricated, and malafide corruption charges against the Congress Party." His resignation underscores the deep divisions within the Delhi Congress regarding the strategic direction and alliances of the party.
"The Delhi Congress Unit was against an alliance with a Party which was formed on the sole basis of leveling false, fabricated, and malafide corruption charges against the Congress Party. Despite that, the Party made a decision to ally with the AAP in Delhi," Lovely stated in his resignation letter. Lovely's resignation highlights the challenges faced by the Congress party in navigating the complex political landscape of Delhi, where it has been grappling with internal dissent and a series of electoral setbacks in recent years.
The decision to align with the AAP, a party that emerged as a formidable political force in the national capital, has further exacerbated tensions within the Delhi Congress. Lovely a four-term MLA from the Gandhi Nagar constituency has also been the Urban Development and Education Minister between 2003 and 2013 during the Sheila Dikshit government. Mr. Lovely left the Congress for a year in 2017 to join the BJP and rejoined in 2018. He had held the post of DPCC chief earlier as well between 2013 and 2015.Elected as one of the youngest MLAs in 1998 from Gandhi Nagar constituency in east Delhi, Lovely held several portfolios under the Sheila Dikshit government between 2008 and 2013. He was elected to Delhi assembly four times - 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013.