Devender Yadav appointed as interim President of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee

The Congress party on Tuesday appointed party leader Devender Yadav as the interim president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect.

It also announced that Yadav would retain his position as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) incharge for Punjab.

This decision comes just two days after former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely resigned on Sunday, citing the party's alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during the Lok Sabha elections.

Issuing a statement, Congress said, “Hon'ble Congress President has appointed Shri Devender Yadav as the interim President of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect. He will continue in his role as AICC In-charge for Punjab.”

Lovely has voiced his dissatisfaction with the Congress party's choice of candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state.

“PCC's (Pradesh Congress Committee) dignity needs to be maintained. Before officially declaring candidates, at least informally, the PCC must have been informed, but they didn't do it," ANI quoted him as saying.

“I can't work like that as PCC President, but I am ready to work as a Congress worker if they allow me to. If they don't want me, then it is a different case,” Lovely added.

In his resignation letter, Lovely, who assumed leadership of the Delhi Congress in August last year, strongly criticized the party's alliance with the AAP.

 

He raised objections to the nomination of Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj from the North East Delhi and North West Delhi constituencies respectively, considering it a significant concern. Allegedly, despite opposition from the Delhi Congress, the party's leadership went ahead with the alliance.

 

In the seat-sharing arrangement of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), Congress is vying for three of Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats, while AAP is pursuing the other four. Meanwhile, in Punjab, both parties are running independently.