Congress Suffers Blow As Gourav Vallabh Switches To BJP

Former Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday after resigning from the Grand Old Party earlier in the day. He cited discomfort with the party's stance on various issues as the reason for his resignation. Vallabh was inducted into the saffron party at the party's headquarters in the national capital.

Vallabh said that he resigned from the Congress party as he was disturbed by the "directionless way" in which the Congress is headed.

In his resignation letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Vallabh expressed unease with the party's positions, particularly on issues like the Ayodhya Ram temple and remarks against Sanatan by its allies. He highlighted that as a Hindu by birth and a teacher by profession, he found the party's stance troubling.

In his letter, he also expressed that the Congress has lost its grassroots connection, failing to comprehend the aspirations of everyday Indians.

Vallabh criticised the Congress for what he perceived as a lack of direction, citing its call for a caste-based census while opposing a complete Hindu society. He also expressed discomfort with what he perceived as the party's criticism of wealth creators and its silence on anti-Sanatan remarks made by its allies.

Expressing his dismay, Vallabh highlighted the Congress' stance on the Ram Mandir pran pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya, which took place in January. "I am appalled by the Congress party's position on the Ram Temple pran pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya," he said.

"As a Hindu by birth and a teacher by profession, this particular stance of the party has always made me uneasy and anxious. Some individuals associated with the party and the INDI alliance speak against Sanatana, and the party's silence on these matters is akin to tacit approval," Vallabh remarked.

He further criticised the party's contradictory approach, citing its advocacy for a caste census alongside what he perceives as an anti-Hindu political stance. "This approach is creating a false perception that the Congress is biased towards a particular religion, which goes against the core principles of the party," he added.

Previously involved in Mallikarjun Kharge's campaign for Congress president, Gourav Vallabh made his electoral debut in 2019 from Jharkhand's Jamshedpur East, where he was defeated by then CM Raghubar Das and Saryu Roy. In the 2023 Rajasthan assembly elections, he contested from the Udaipur constituency but lost by over 32,000 votes.