PCC president Arvinder Singh Lovely resigns; more leaders may leave; crisis in Delhi Congress

NEW DELHI: Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely has resigned amid the Lok Sabha election campaign. The resignation is due to dissatisfaction with the alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party and the selection of the Congress candidate.

Former minister Rajkumar Chauhan had resigned from the party earlier. There are indications that more Delhi leaders will leave the party. Arvinder Singh Lovely had resigned as the PCC president in 2015 when the Aam Aadmi Party won the Delhi Legislative Assembly with a huge majority. Differences with AICC-in-charge Deepak Babria, who is in charge of Delhi and Haryana, are also said to be the reason for the leaders leaving the party.

Some Congress leaders are hinting that Lovely is unhappy about not getting a seat and may join the BJP. Local leaders are also unhappy that the national leadership is not trying to solve the problem. Aam Aadmi Party says that the problems in Congress will not affect their campaign. The party's campaign is centred on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. There are seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital. According to the seat agreement of the 'India' alliance, Aam Aadmi Party is contesting in four seats and Congress in three seats. The sixth phase of voting will be held on May 25.

Dissatisfied with Kanhaiya Kumar too

Arvinder Singh Lovely responded that he resigned not because he did not get a Lok Sabha seat, but because he did not compromise on the ideals he espoused. "I have resigned only from the post, not from the party. Aam Aadmi leaders are in jail in corruption cases. My protest is to the fact that Congress still formed an alliance with that party. I am not continuing in the post as I cannot protect the interests of the workers. Congress's North East Delhi candidate Kanhaiya Kumar praises Kejriwal, who is in jail in a corruption case. Kanhaiya's actions are against the party line," Lovely said.

Congress workers clash with each other

Congress workers clashed with each other in front of Arvinder Singh Lovely's house. Clashes broke out between the faction led by former Congress MLA Asif Muhammad Khan and workers supporting Lovely.