A former Congress MLA has claimed that politician Arvinder Singh Lovely, who on Sunday resigned from the party's chief post from the Delhi unit, would be joining rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

       Former MLA Asif Mohammad Khan told the media that BJP will field Lovely from East Delhi Lok Sabha seat by cancelling Harsh Malhotra's nomination.

       "There might be differences in the party. If Lovely was disappointed and wanted to resign, he should have silently gone to Mallikarjun Kharge ji and resigned. If his intentions were not bad he would have silently tendered his resignation. In a way, he has issued that letter openly to the media is directly benefitting the BJP. I can say this, in the place of Harsh Malhotra, Lovely will be declared candidate within one or two days," Khan said.

       However, Lovely clarified media that he was not joining any other political party.

       Will Arvinder Singh Lovely join BJP? Here's what he said

       "I have only resigned as Delhi Congress chief and I am not joining any political party," he added.

       Lovely's resignation is a major setback for the embattled Congress party amid Lok Sabha polls. Lovely said he was against the Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alliance and the statements of Congress candidates Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj.

       In his letter sent to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday, Lovely also said that he found himself "handicapped" as all unanimous decisions taken by senior Delhi unit leaders have been "unilaterally vetoed" by AICC Delhi in-charge Deepak Babaria.

       'Struggling to bring backa€|,' Cong leader on Lovely's exit from Delhi chief post

       Meanwhile, the BJP has also reacted to Lovely's resignation. The saffron party said it was an "unnatural alliance" forged by the leadership of AAP and Congress to "shield their corruption", but their party workers had not accepted it.

       'Was against an alliance with AAP': Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh resigns

       AAP senior leader Bharadwaj said it was an internal matter of the Congress. "It won't be appropriate for me to comment on the matter. AAP is fighting on the four seats it is contesting with full strength and we are hopeful that people will vote for INDIA bloc candidates on all the seven seats in Delhi," he said.

       Lovely resigned from the post of Delhi Congress president in 2015 as well. He joined the BJP in 2017 but returned to the Congress almost nine months later.

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       Published: 29 Apr 2024, 06:56 AM IST

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