Arvinder Singh Lovely, who stepped down as Delhi Congress president due to the party’s decision to form an alliance with AAP for the Lok Sabha elections, officially became a member of the BJP on Saturday.
He joined the party in a ceremony attended by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, and the party’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde.
In addition to Lovely, former Congress MLAs Raj Kumar Chauhan, Naseeb Singh, Neeraj Basoya, and former Youth Congress President Amit Malik also became members of the BJP at the party’s headquarters in the national capital.
Previously, Lovely had resigned from the Congress and switched to the BJP in 2017. However, he rejoined the grand old party in 2018.
Following his entry into the BJP, Lovely expressed optimism that the party would secure victories in all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and emerge victorious in the national elections.
“We have been given an opportunity to fight for the people of Delhi under the banner of BJP and under the leadership of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi). I have full hope and there is no doubt about it that the BJP government is being formed in the country with an overwhelming majority. In the coming days, the flag of the BJP will fly in Delhi too,” he said.
In his resignation letter addressed to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lovely expressed his decision not to align with any political party following his departure as the Delhi Congress chief.
In the letter, he criticized Kanhaiya Kumar, the party’s candidate for North East Delhi, and Udit Raj, the nominee for North West Delhi, stating that they were unfamiliar with Delhi Congress and its policies.
Lovely voiced his disillusionment with the internal workings of the party, feeling “handicapped” due to the current system. He highlighted interference by the party’s general secretary and the alliance with AAP in Delhi as major sources of contention.
Similarly, Naseeb Singh and Neeraj Basoya, in their resignation letters, condemned the Congress for forming an alliance with AAP in Delhi.
Under the seat-sharing arrangement, AAP will contest on four seats — South Delhi, New Delhi, West Delhi, and East Delhi — while Congress will contest on three — Northwest Delhi, Northeast Delhi, and Chandni Chowk. The Lok Sabha elections for the seven seats in Delhi are scheduled for May 25.
Upon Lovely’s induction into the BJP, Tawde took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi regarding his candidature from the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh.
“Raebareli had posters of Priyanka Gandhi. Congress workers wanted her to fight from Raebareli. But, Rahul Gandhi came and filed his nomination from Raebareli. PM Modi’s slogan is ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao‘. But Congress’ slogan is ‘Beta Bachao, Beta Badhao’,” he said.