From Jyotiraditya Scindia To Milind Deora, Here's A List Of Heavyweights Who Left Congress

With just 100 days left for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Congress on Sunday faced another major set after former Union Minister Milind Deora decided to resign from the party's primary membership. Milind Deora, son of Congress stalwart Murli Deora, concluded his family's 55-year-old association with the grand old party today. He informed about his departure through a post on the micro-blogging site X, formerly known as Twitter.

"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,' said Milind Deora.

Milind is not the first one to part ways with Congress after its drastic downfall. Kapil Sibal, Gulam Nabi Azad, Hardik Patel, Ashwani Kumar, Sunil Jhakar, RPN Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada, Alpesh Thakor and Anil Antony left the Congress in recent years.

A Brief About Leaders Who Left Congress:

Kapil Sibal:

Kapil Sibal, a former Union minister, tendered his resignation from the Congress on May 16, 2022. However, he officially disclosed this decision over a week later, right after submitting his nomination for the Rajya Sabha as an independent candidate backed by the Samajwadi Party.

Gulam Nabi Azad:

Former Chief Minister of undivided Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad's resignation was not less any shocker to Congress in 2022. The veteran openly criticized Rahul Gandhi for what he deemed as "immaturity" within the party, as stated in his impactful resignation letter. Later, Ghulam Nabi Azad formed his own party, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party, to continue serving the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Hardik Patel:

Gujarat's prominent Patidar leader Hardik Patel dumped Congress in May 2022 to join BJP. Hardik Patel's resignation questioned the party's functioning and dominance of senior leaders. He also expressed disappointment with the Gujarat Congress's priorities, which were far away from the ground reality.

Sunil Jhakar:

Former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar resigned from the party in 2022 following a show cause notice from the leadership for criticizing then Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. In May 2022, he joined the saffron front and in July, the BJP handed over him responsibilities of its Punjab unit.

Jyotiraditya Scindia:

The royal scion is the offspring of Madhavrao Scindia, a former Union Minister. He left Congress to join BJP in 2019. Currently, he takes care of the Civil Aviation Ministry under the Narendra Modi government. Scindia also played a big role to help the BJP to retain power in Madhya Pradesh and outclass Kamal Nath-led Congress.