Cong leader Gurudas Kamat resigns from party

MUMBAI: Expressing his resentment for being ignored by the party leadership, senior Congress leader and former union minister Gurudas Kamat on Monday resigned from the membership of Congress. Kamat also informed the leadership that he would like to retire from active politics.

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The decision of the senior leader comes ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled early next year. Kamat himself sent a text message to his supporters about the decision expressing his desire to retire for being ignored by party leadership.

“Over the last more than 44 years, I have worked with most of you and served the Congress. For several months now I have felt I need to take a backseat to enable others to get the opportunity. I met Honorable Congress President about 10 days ago and expressed a desire to resign. Subsequently I sent letters to both Soniaji and Rahulji that I would like to exit. Since there was no reply I have formally informed that I would like to retire from Politics,” says the message sent by Kamat to his close aides.

Kamat held the post of general secretary of the All India Congress Committee. He was in charge of party affairs of Rajasthan where the Congress lost the assembly elections in 2013.

Kamat is the second high profile Congress leader to quit this month following former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi. Kamat, a former Mumbai Congress president, was also unhappy with the party over the choice of Sanjay Nirupam as city Congress chief.