Former South Mumbai Congress MP Milind Deora not keen to contest Lok Sabha elections due to infighting

An ongoing feud in the Congress’s Mumbai unit became public on Tuesday when former Union minister Milind Deora expressed unhappiness over the infighting and sought the intervention of the party leadership to quell it.

An ongoing feud in the Congress’s Mumbai unit became public on Tuesday when former Union minister Milind Deora expressed his unhappiness over the infighting and sought the intervention of the party leadership to quell it. He said he may not contest the Lok Sabha election in such a scenario.

In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Milind Deora (pictured) said he was disappointed over the infighting. (Getty images/File Photo)

The Mumbai Congress is a divided house with several party leaders not getting along with city unit chief Sanjay Nirupam, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The infighting is now taking a serious turn, they added.

In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Deora said he was disappointed over the infighting. “In a city like Mumbai which is our economic and cultural capital, we need to bring people together. Mumbai Congress cannot become a cricket pitch for sectarian politics, with leaders pitted against one other,” he posted on Twitter.

HT learns that Deora may have conveyed his reluctance to contest the Lok Sabha election if the infighting continues. He has also warned the party’s leadership that if the problem is not fixed, it may affect the poll performance of the party. Earlier, former MP Priya Dutt opted out of the contest citing personal reasons.

A close aide to Deora said on condition of anonymity that the former south Mumbai MP wa upset that many Congress leaders from the city are dejected and disillusioned,and also over Nirupam’s strategy of targeting the votes of particular communities instead of adopting an all-inclusive stance.

During the parliamentary board meeting at the party’s Dadar office last week, Deora strongly objected to Nirupam’s candidature from Mumbai North West, according to a person familiar with the situation. Deora said that Nirupam should fight the election from his original seat, Mumbai North, instead of switching to the comparatively safer North West, the person said. “It will send out