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The Congress is in a predicament. It’s Delhi Pradesh Congress chief, Arvinder Singh Lovely, has stepped down from the post. Akshay Kanti Bam, the party’s Indore Lok Sabha candidate, has joined the BJP. These setbacks have come as India holds the crucial general elections. Which other high-profile leaders have left the Grand Old Party this year? read more
 "The leaders who quit Congress ahead of Lok Sabha polls")
Akshay Kanti Bam has withdrawn his nomination as Congress' Indore Lok Sabha candidate. Image Courtesy: X/@KailashOnline
The Congress is in a sticky situation amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The disgruntlement of its various leaders is out in the open. Arvinder Singh Lovely’s resignation as the Delhi Pradesh Congress chief has brought the rift within the party’s unit in the National Capital to the limelight. While Lovely has maintained he will remain in the Congress, there are rumours he could shift to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On Monday (29 April), the Congress’ Madhya Pradesh unit suffered a blow as its Indore candidate, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination and joined the BJP. Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya announced the news on X and wrote, “Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Indore Akshay Kanti Bam ji is welcomed in BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, national president Shri JP Nadda, (MP) Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state president VD Sharma".
Bam’s departure is among a series of exits that the Congress has faced this year. From Milind Deora to Ashok Chavan, here are the high-profile leaders who left the Grand Old Party in 2024.
Milind Deora
Milind Deora quit the Congress in January to join the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde. He accused the Grand Old Party of not giving “importance to merit” and “abusing industrialists and businessmen”.
Deora, who was considered a close aide of former Congres chief Rahul Gandhi, ended his family’s 55-year connection with the party with his exit.
The Congress accused the BJP of orchestrating Deora’s departure to divert attention from the party’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
After Deora, former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique also left the Congress.
Ashok Chavan
Ex-Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan’s exit from the party came on 12 February. A day later, he joined the BJP in the presence of deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and its Maharashtra unit chief Chandrakant Bawankule.
Chavan was sent to the Rajya Sabha by the saffron party the same month.
He became the ninth former CM of the Congress to quit the Grand Old Party in the past 10 years, joining the likes of Amarinder Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, the late Ajit Jogi, SM Krishna, Narayan Rane, Vijay Bahuguna and Giridhar Gamang.
Former Odisha CM Gamang returned to the Congress fold in January this year after leaving the party in 2015.
The BJP banked on Chavan to swing the polls in the party’s favour in his home turf of Nanded in the Marathwada region.
Naveen Jindal
In March, industrialist Naveen Jindal left the Congress in a surprising move. He was welcomed into the BJP and given a ticket for the Lok Sabha polls from Haryana’s Kurukshetra.
Jindal, the chairperson of Jindal Steel and Power, was a two-time Congress MP from the seat.
He wrote on X at the time, “Today is a very important day in my life. I am proud that I joined the BJP today and I will be able to serve the nation under the leadership of PM Modi. I want to contribute to the ‘Viksit Bharat’ dream of PM Modi”.
Anil Sharma
Former Bihar Congress president Anil Sharma left in March, claiming the Congress was stuck in a “disastrous” partnership with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
He became the fourth ex-Bihar Congress chief to have quit the party in nearly a decade.
Sharma, who joined the BJP in April, alleged Congress leaders, including Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, suffered from a “communal mindset”, reported PTI.
Vijender Singh
On 3 April, Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh quit the party to join the BJP, saying it was “homecoming” for him and that it was “good to be back”.
This came just a day after he shared an anti-BJP post taking a potshot at PM Modi. Later, Singh said, “I slept (after tweeting) and when I woke up, I realised that I was doing something wrong. I realised I needed to join the BJP”, reported India Today.
Singh, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket from South Delhi, is a Jat who comes from the Bhiwani’s Kaluwas village in Haryana. As per The Hindu, he could help the BJP gain the votes of his community.
Gourav Vallabh
Gourav Vallabh, a prominent Congress spokesperson, resigned from the party on 4 April, lamenting the Grand Old Party’s “directionless path”.
He alleged the Congress was moving in the wrong direction, against the “basic principle of the party”.
In a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Vallabh said he cannot raise anti-Sanatan slogans or abuse “wealth creators” every day.
Hours after leaving the Congress, he joined the BJP, saying he supports PM Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’.
Sanjay Nirupam
The Congress expelled Sanjay Nirupam for “indiscipline” and “anti-party statements” in early April. However, he claimed the action came after he had already resigned from the party.
Nirupam was another high-profile exit from the Congress in Maharashtra. He was eyeing the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency but was vexed after Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), an ally of the Grand Old Party, announced its candidate from the seat.
With inputs from agencies
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