Why Arvinder Singh Lovely resigned as Delhi Congress president: ‘Was against…’

Arvinder Singh Lovely said several AAP ministers have been jailed over corruption charges, yet the Congress forged an alliance with it.

In a big jolt to the Congress, Arvinder Singh Lovely has resigned as the president of the party's Delhi unit. In a resignation letter to Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday, Arvinder Singh Lovely said he cannot continue as the president of the Delhi party unit.

Former Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely with party candidate for the Lok Sabha election Kanhaiya Kumar during a press conference on April 2. (Arvind Yadav/HT)

In his letter to Mallikarjun Kharge, Arvinder Singh Lovely said several Aam Aadmi Party ministers have been jailed over corruption charges, yet the Congress forged an alliance with the party for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 amid opposition by party workers.

Arvinder Singh Lovely added that since he cannot protect the interests of the Delhi Congress workers, he sees no reason to continue as the chief of the Delhi party unit.

Who is Arvinder Singh Lovely?

• Arvinder Singh Lovely, a prominent figure in Delhi politics, gained recognition as the youngest MLA to the Delhi Assembly after winning in 1998 from the Gandhi Nagar seat.
• Arvinder Singh Lovely represented the constituency until 2015, during which he held significant ministerial portfolios, including urban development and revenue, education, and transport in the successive Sheila Dixit-led governments in Delhi.
• Formerly the president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, Arvinder Singh Lovely contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the East Delhi constituency, competing against cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Atishi of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Despite his efforts, he conceded to Gambhir by a substantial margin of 3,92,000 votes.
• A Delhi native, Arvinder Singh Lovely pursued his graduation in political science from SGTB Khalsa College of Delhi University (DU) and actively participated in student politics during his college years.
• He ascended to the position of general secretary of the Delhi Youth Congress in 1990, followed by a tenure as the general secretary of the National Student’s Union of India (NSUI) from 1992 to 1996.
• With nearly three decades of affiliation with the Congress, Arvinder Singh Lovely briefly parted ways with the party in 2017, joining the rival BJP in April of that year. However, he returned to the Congress fold after a few months, citing an 'ideological misfit' with the BJP.
• Arvinder Singh Lovely was appointed to the post in August 2023.

Why Arvinder Singh Lovely resigned Delhi Congress president?

• "The Delhi Congress Unit was against an alliance with a party which was formed on the sole basis of leveling false, fabricated and malafide corruption charges against the Congress Party. Despite that, the Party made a decision to ally with the AAP in Delhi," Arvinder Singh Lovely wrote in his resignation letter.
• In his letter, Lovely said all unanimous decisions taken by senior Delhi Congress leaders have been unilaterally vetoed by the AICC general secretary (Delhi in-charge).
• "Since my appointment as DPCC president, the AICC General Secretary (Delhi In-charge) has not allowed me to make any senior appointments in the DPCC. My request for the appointment of a veteran leader as Media head of DPCC was blatantly rejected. To date, the AICC General Secretary (Delhi In-charge) has not allowed the DPCC to appoint all Block presidents in the city. Resultantly more than 150 blocks in Delhi do not presently have a Block President," Arvinder Singh Lovely wrote.
• Arvinder Singh Lovely claimed that despite the Aam Aadmi Party accusing the Congress over corruption, the party allied (INDIA bloc) with them.
• "The Delhi Congress Unit was against an alliance with a Party which was formed on the sole basis of levelling false, fabricated and malafide corruption charges against the Congress Party and in turn, whose half of the cabinet ministers are presently in jail on corruption charges. Despite that, the party decided to ally with the AAP in Delhi," Lovely added.
• "We respected the party's final decision. Not only did I publicly back the decision, I also ensured that the full State Unit fell in line with the High Command's final order. On instructions from AICC General Secretary (Organisation), I even went to the extent of visiting Kejriwal's residence on the night of his Arrest along with Subash Chopra and Sandeep Dikshit, despite the same being against my position on the matter," he said.
• Lovely said the party gave Lok Sabha tickets to candidates who were "total strangers" to the Delhi Congress unit, referring to Udit Raj's candidature in North-west Delhi and Kanhaiya Kumar in Northeast Delhi.