In Jolt To Congress, Party's Former Delhi Unit Chief Arvinder Singh Lovely Joins BJP

Former Congress Delhi chief Arvinder Singh Lovely joined the BJP on Saturday.

Former Congress Delhi chief Arvinder Singh Lovely joined the BJP on Saturday. ( Image Source :PTI )

Lok Sabha Elections: In a jolt to the Congress amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the party's former Delhi unit chief, Arvinder Singh Lovely, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday. The former Congress leader joined the saffron camp in the national capital in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. This comes days after Lovely resigned from the position of Delhi Congress chief.

VIDEO | Former DPCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely (@ArvinderLovely) joins BJP at party Headquarters in Delhi, in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri), Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva (@Virend_Sachdeva) and party’s national general secretary Vinod… pic.twitter.com/oZu9sVPmnt

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 4, 2024

After joining the BJP, Arvinder Singh Lovely said that he has hope that the BJP government will be formed in the country with an overwhelming majority. "We have been given an opportunity to fight for the people of Delhi under the banner of the BJP and under the leadership of the Prime Minister... 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.

#WATCH | After joining BJP, Arvinder Singh Lovely says, "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... I have full hope and there is no doubt about it that the BJP government is being… https://t.co/hikx5Hpouw pic.twitter.com/rWdp44P1aJ

— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2024

Besides Arvinder Singh Lovely, former Congress MLAs Raj Kumar Chauhan, Naseeb Singh, Neeraj Basoya, and former Youth Congress President Amit Mallik also joined the BJP at the party headquarters in Delhi.

#WATCH | Former Congress MLAs Raj Kumar Chauhan, Naseeb Singh, Neeraj Basoya, and former Youth Congress President Amit Mallik join BJP at the party headquarters in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/WpEwIrtU16

— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2024

This comes as a setback for the Congress as Delhi readies to vote on May 25. Voting for all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital is scheduled to take place during the sixth phase of the ongoing polls.

Last month, the former Delhi Congress chief, addressed his resignation at a press conference and clarified that it was not due to discontent over tickets for the polls. He asserted that his pain stemmed from the principles the grand old party has been fighting for over the past several years.

"I resigned as Delhi Congress chief. I want to clarify that I have not resigned over discontent over tickets (for Lok Sabha polls)... We (Congress and AAP) are contesting the (Lok Sabha) polls together but the Congress and its workers never gave a clean chit (to AAP) or giving them the credits to build schools and hospitals," said Lovely, as quoted by ANI.

Lovely An 'Opportunist', Says DPCC Interim Chief Devender Yadav

Delhi Congress' interim chief Devender Yadav on Saturday described former party unit president Arvinder Singh Lovely, who joined the BJP, as an "opportunist". The Congress does not care about such people. It was strong before and will remain strong in the future, he said.

A week after he resigned as the Delhi Congress president protesting the party's alliance with the AAP, Lovely joined the BJP on Saturday along with a few other leaders, including former city government minister Raj Kumar Chauhan and former MLAs Neeraj Basoya and Naseeb Singh.

It is believed that he and some other leaders were also upset with the Congress' choice of candidates, including Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj, in the national capital for the Lok Sabha elections.

Reacting to Lovely joining the BJP, Yadav said, "I put Arvinder Singh Lovely in the category of an opportunist person. This is not the first time that he has tried to sabotage the Congress," as quoted by PTI. "The party does not care much about such people. The Congress was strong before and will remain strong in the future as well. This is their habit. Whenever there is a chance, he (Lovely) has tried to cheat and there is no place for cheaters in the party," he added.