Milind Deora Dumps Congress Party

In another big blow to India’s Grand Old Party, Milind Deora, the star of Mumbai south seat, resigned from primary congress membership on Sunday and shifted his loyalties to the Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. Once considered among the young turks of the congress, Milind Deora was premium member of Team Rahul, which also included leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin pilot, Jitin Prasad, Deependra Hooda among few others.

While resigning from the party on Sunday, the former union minister, expressing his anguish wrote on X, “Today marks the conclusion of a significant chapter in my political journey. I have tendered my resignation from the primary membership of @incindia, ending my family’s 55-year relationship with the party. I am grateful to all leaders, colleagues & karyakartas for their unwavering support over the years’’. In an interview with reporters at his Mumbai residence, Milind Deora stated that he left the Congress in order to pursue the "path of development”. As he left his home with his wife Pooja to travel to the Siddhivinayak Temple in Prabhadevi for prayers, Milind Deora said, "I am going to walk on the path of development.”

Son of seasoned Congressman Murli Deora, Milind Deora was elected to Mumbai South in 2004 and 2009. In the ensuing elections in 2014 and 2019, he lost to Arvind Sawant, the head of the Shiv Sena (undivided), and came second. He had voiced his disapproval of the Uddhav Thackeray faction's victory in Mumbai South, recently, as the opposition alliance includes the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) along with the Congress party and NCP. Further interacting with the journalists Milind Deora said, “Today is a very exciting day for me. I never thought that I would leave the Congress.But today my family's 55-year long relationship with Congress has been broken," after joining the Shiv Sena. He further continued, “You all know my politics have been progressive and secular. Everyone knows that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde works among public. I have to strengthen his hand”.

As another young leader quits the party, it won’t be the end of the night for the congress party. Nonetheless, it will be a big challenge for the current party leadership to keep the cadre motivated ahead of Lok Sabha polls in 2024.