'AAP candidate on Congress ticket,' says Ex-Delhi MLA Naseeb Singh on Udit Raj after resignation

Former Delhi Congress MLA Naseeb Singh on Wednesday attacked Udit Raj, the grand old party's Lok Sabha candidate from North West Delhi. He said in his resignation letter addressed to Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge that Udit Raj is basically an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate who has gotten a Congress ticket.

Singh added that the situation is the same with the party's North East Delhi candidate. The Congress has fielded controversial former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi against sitting BJP MP and Bhojpuri actor-singer Manoj Tiwari.

He further mentioned that the reality is that the Congress is contesting the Lok Sabha election on only one seat in Delhi. Naseeb Singh on Wednesday resigned from the primary membership of the Congress party. 

Singh, who has also worked with the late former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, said in his resignation letter: "The North-West Delhi candidate is practically an AAP candidate on a Congress ticket. Same is the position with the North East Delhi candidate. In reality, the present position is that the Congress is fighting the election on 1 seat in Delhi."

He also mentioned that he was against the party's alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi since day one. He said the party high command, nonetheless, allied with the AAP. "This will finish off the party in Delhi. Majority of Congress workers in Delhi are extremely upset about the alliance," Singh added. 

Find Naseeb Singh's full resignation letter here

North West and North East Delhi candidates 'appear to have direct contradiction to party ideology'

Singh also said the Congress in North West and North East Delhi Lok Sabha seats gave tickets to leftist and communist people "who appear to have direct contradiction to the party ideology." Explaining his disillusionment with Udit Raj, he said that the Congress' North West Delhi candidate has called the Congress a "4 per cent vote bank party", while claiming he does not need help from the local Congress workers.

"Neither the Congress workers have any connection today with the candidate, nor does the North West Delhi candidate have any connection with our workers," Singh said. He further mentioned that Kanhaiya Kumar has publicly disrespected former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in many interviews. 

Arvinder Singh Lovely forced to resign: Naseeb Singh

Besides this, he mentioned that the party high command has not respected the local Delhi Congress leadership. Naseeb Singh further mentioned that Arvinder Singh Lovely was forced to resign as the party state unit president. Lovely resigned from his post on April 28, citing dissatisfaction with the party's alliance with the AAP and choices of some Lok Sabha candidates. 

"The party has even not respected the local leadership. Because of this, Arvinder Singh Lovely was also forced to resign from the position of party president. Today, no Congress worker or local leader has any respect or standing before the party high command," Naseeb Singh said. 

Arvinder Singh Lovely on Kanhaiya Kumar, Udit Raj

Naseeb Singh, however, is not the only senior Congress leader who has opposed Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj. Former Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely has also criticised these two candidates in several interviews. 

On Udit Raj, Lovely said that he was a "total stranger" to the Delhi Congress and the party's policies. He expressed his discontent over the party's decision to field Udit Raj from North West Delhi against BJP's Yogendra Chandolia without proper consultation from the state Congress. 

Arvinder Singh Lovely has also criticised the candidature of Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi. He condemned Kanhaiya Kumar for praising Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently in jail due to a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. 

Anger within Congress over Udit Raj, Kanhaiya Kumar

Senior Congress leaders like Sandeep Dikshit and party workers have opposed the candidature of Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj. Some Congress leaders and workers perceive them as outsiders.

During the press conference in which Kanhaiya Kumar's name was announced as the party's pick for North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, angry workers from North West Delhi and North East Delhi raised slogans against him. The announcement of Udit Raj's candidature from the North West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency was met with protests by party workers and slogans like "Bahri Umeedwar nahi chalega."