As Gourav Vallabh Resigns From Congress, A Look At Other Prominent Leaders Who Have Quit Party: Milind Deora To Ghulam Nabi Azad

Several veteran leaders from the Congress quit the party in recent years due to several reasons.

The Congress party suffered a serious blow on Thursday ahead of the Lok Sabha polls after its firebrand spokesperson Gourav Vallabh called it quits over the stance taken by the grand old party on several issues including the Ayodhya Ram temple and the remarks against the Sanatan Dharma by the leaders of its allies. 

In his letter addressed to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Vallabh said that he could neither raise anti-Sanatan slogans nor berate the wealth creators day and night. 

But this is not a new jolt the main opposition party of the country has faced. The Congress saw the exit of many prominent leaders who ended their association with the party after a long innings. 

Sanjay Nirupam: The veteran Maharashtra politician was expelled from the Congress party on Wednesday, although, Nirupam said that the action came after he tendered his resignation. The former Mumbai North MP had voiced his discontent with the party's state leadership after Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) announced candidates on four of six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, including the Mumbai North West constituency from where Nirpam was expecting a party ticket. 

Milind Deora: The former Union minister quit the party in January this year switching sides with the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena. Deora said that the Congress of today is "very different" from the Congress of 1968 and 2004. The Shiv Sena Shinde camp gave him a ticket for the Rajya Sabha polls held in February this year which he won unopposed. 

Ashok Chavan: The former Maharashtra Chief Minister, who once led the revival of the party's state unit, resigned from it in February this year. However, he said that he resigned from the primary membership of the party due to personal reasons, but reports suggested that he was discontented with the party. 

Baba Siddique: The former Maharashtra minister also stepped down from the party in February this year and joined the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress party.  

Jagadish Shettar: The former Karnataka Chief Minister returned to the BJP fold in January this year after he left the saffron party to join the Congress party in April last year, before the Karnataka Assembly polls. 

Ghulam Nabi Azad: The veteran Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister tendered his resignation in August 2022. In a scathing five-page note to party interim president Sonia Gandhi, Azad said that the Congress has reached a "point of no return."