NEW DELHI: Leaders in Delhi Congress say they were unhappy with Lovely’s administrative style.
Days after resigning from the primary membership of the grand old party and accusing the Congress top leadership of stitching an unholy alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, ex Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely joined BJP on Saturday.
The reason was, according to leaders close to Lovely, the Delhi unit president was not kept in the loop while deciding on the candidate selection on three Lok Sabha berths that the Congress had been given by AAP, which had angered him. A Congress leader close to Lovely said, “This also shows, how the hierarchy of the Congress organisation is malfunctioning and also displays the power enjoyed by a few top leaders in AICC who want to tune the power-levers of Delhi Pradesh according to their whims.”
However, leaders in the Delhi unit suggest that they were not satisfied with Lovely’s administrative style, and claim that Lovely had not been working smoothly within the organisation. A Congress leader holding a position in the party in the national capital said, “For the last six months he was not making adequate moves that would project that he wanted to infuse motivation in the cadre. His actions were listless. He wanted to give those people positions in the party who during the tenure of the last president would not visit DPCC or work to improve the condition of Congress. That is the reason Deepak Babariya had vetoed several names which he had suggested.”
A political analyst said, “All the leaders who have held constitutional positions in Delhi under the banner of Congress have become deadwood. They have lost their grip on their constituencies, they have lost the connect with the people. People have forgotten them. So even if they leave the party it doesn’t have any impact. But since those leaders who are leaving party are accusing the alliance with AAP for leaving the party, it can dent the image of the opposition bloc on the narrative front. Moreover, it is a blessing in disguise for Congress, for there will be fresh people coming up with fresh energy. And if it clicks, the Congress in Delhi could see growth.”
But the leaders close to Sandeep Dikshit (who is close to Lovely and was denied a ticket) suggest that the Congress cadre are unhappy over the alliance with AAP. A senior Congress leader said, “Lovely was part of all decisions made by the Congress. Those people who left by saying the Congress cadre are unhappy with the alliance, could have left when the alliance was stitched. They are saying it after not getting tickets. Though before the alliance we were against the alliance but now everyone is standing with AAP and there is no disquiet.”
The first time Lovely quit as the party’s Delhi chief was in 2015. He then joined BJP in 2017, but returned to the Congress nine months later and again resigned from the Delhi Congress president, eventually to go back to the BJP.