Factional rift in Delhi Congress after Lovely’s resignation; AAP calls it ally’s internal matter

NEW DELHI: The resignation of Arvinder Singh Lovely, the head of the Delhi Congress, in opposition to the party’s alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has brought internal disagreements within the Congress to the forefront. A faction of party leaders called for the removal of Deepak Babaria, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge, following Lovely’s departure.

Babaria acknowledged that Lovely’s resignation was ill-timed, as it occurred during ongoing general elections, but maintained that it wouldn’t impact the Congress, while the AAP regarded it as an internal matter of its ally.

The BJP criticised the alliance, arguing that it was an “unnatural” arrangement made by the leadership of AAP and Congress to cover their corruption, pointing out that their party workers had not accepted it.

Lovely’s resignation letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed the Delhi Congress unit’s opposition to the alliance with AAP, stating that all unanimous decisions by the senior leaders were overruled by Babaria. He criticised the Congress for fielding candidates, such as Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj, who he claimed were unfamiliar with the Delhi Congress and its policies.

In response to Lovely’s resignation, Congress workers protested against Kanhaiya Kumar at the Congress election office in Northeast Delhi, expressing their preference for a local candidate. Protesters also gathered outside Lovely’s residence, where a scuffle erupted, allegedly involving the pushing of a former Congress MLA Asid Mohammed Khan by Lovely’s supporters.

Amidst the turmoil, Babaria defended the party’s decision to ally with AAP, emphasising that Lovely was involved in the discussions and should have voiced his concerns earlier. However, many in the Congress, including former Delhi minister Rajkumar Chauhan, voiced dissatisfaction with Babaria’s leadership, suggesting his removal to restore party unity.

As the situation unfolded, Lovely clarified that he had resigned from his position but had not joined any other political party. The BJP suggested that Lovely’s resignation could signal deeper issues within the Congress, with some predicting that more resignations and disagreements could follow. Other Congress leaders, like Sandeep Dikshit, expressed sympathy for Lovely’s decision, noting that he likely acted upon the sentiment of party workers.

“The party showed faith in him and gave him such a big position, but what he did was sad. His resignation won’t affect the party and I am confident that we will win all three Lok Sabha seats from Delhi in the elections,” Babaria said.

Former Congress MLA Neeraj Basoya said, “Babaria’s style of functioning has created problems everywhere, be it Delhi or Haryana, and all the workers are angry.”

AAP senior leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said it was an internal matter of their senior ally Congress. “It won’t be appropriate for me to comment on the matter. AAP is fighting on the four seats it is contesting with full strength and we are hopeful that people will vote for the INDIA bloc candidates on all the seven seats in Delhi,” he said. Congress leader Surendra Rajput said Kharge will decide the future course of action after Lovely’s resignation. “I would only say that our alliance with the AAP happened with his participation and as per his wish. The general elections are going on and one should keep personal expectations and aspirations aside for now,” he said.