Lovely returns to Cong in less than a year

NEW DELHI: Former Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief Arvinder Singh Lovely on Saturday returned to the Congress and said he was "ideologically a misfit" in the Bharatiya Janata Party, which he had joined in April last year.

His re-induction to Congress was announced soon after Lovely, along with currenty DPCC chief Ajay Maken, former Delhi Minister Haroon Yusuf and party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala called on party president Rahul Gandhi at his residence here.

Before the Delhi Municipal elections last year, Lovely had joined BJP and attacked Maken and called former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit a "burden" on the Congress.

Lovely's return is seen as a bolster for the party ahead of the imminent by-elections in the national Capital, where 20 seats are up for grabs.

The bypolls could take place, with the Election Commission recommended disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs for holding office of profit while serving as parliamentary secretaries.

"It was not an easy decision for me to leave Congress. The decision was taken in pain. Ideologically, I was a misfit there (BJP)," Lovely told reporters on Saturday.

Announcing Lovely's re-induction, Maken said, "We are happy to announce that Lovely has joined Congress back. Congress will be strengthened by his presence again and we will serve the people of Delhi."

"Lovely and his family have contributed to the Congress for long. He has been a strong Sepoy of the Congress for generations," Maken added. A four-time MLA, 49-year-old Lovely was first elected to the Delhi Legislative Assembly in 1998.