Who Is Milind Deora: 5 Facts About Ex-Union Minister Who Quit Congress Ahead Of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

Congress leader Milind Deora's announcement to quit the Congress came on the day when the grand old party is set to begin its ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’. Here are five facts about the former Union minister.

In this April 12, 2016 file photo, then Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi with Milind Deora in Mumbai.

Source : PTI

Congress leader Milind Deora resigned from the party on Sunday, thus ending his family's 55-year-long relationship. Despite initially dismissing them as rumours, Deora is expected to join Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on January 14 at the Maharashtra chief minister Shinde’s residence, as per inputs. Deora's announcement also comes on the day the Congress party began its ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’. While speaking to ANI earlier, senior leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that the timing of Deora’s departure was determined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Here are 5 facts about Milind Deora:

1. Milind Deora is the son of the late Congress party leader Murli Deora. The 47-year-old leader graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.
   
   
2. In the 2004 general elections, he won from Mumbai South by defeating BJP's Jayawantiben Mehta by a margin of 10,000 votes.
   
   
3. In 2011, Deora took up the responsibility as the Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, as well as Shipping in October 2012.
   
   
4. Milind Deora is married to Pooja Shetty. Pooja Shetty is involved in the film industry and heads the film production company Walk Water Media. She is the daughter of filmmaker Manmohan Shetty, who is the former chairman of Adlabs.
   
   
5. As the President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee, Milind Deora played a pivotal role in shaping the party's organisational framework. He stepped down from the position of Mumbai Congress party president in 2019.

Following his resignation, the Lok Sabha MP said that he is "walking on the path of development.”

Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Eknath Gaikwad expressed her disappointment, saying, "Congress and Deora family always had a unique equation. After reading his post (on X), me and the entire Congress party are deeply saddened. I and the officer-in-charge both tried to have a discussion with him [Milind Deora]. We are all part of a family, and we should stick together."