Year ender 2021: 5 Prominent leaders who quit Congress

New Delhi, Dec 17: The Congress, the Grand Old Party of Indian politics, continues to be facing its existential crisis as the list of leaders exiting the party has only pointed at the dismal state of the party. Since the Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, the Congress has been bearing most of the brunt. The year 2021 was no exception.

This year several prominent leaders have quit the party, citing unhappiness or rather worryingly, questioning its leadership. The party's inability to quell dissention within its fold has compounded its problems.

Here's a list of prominent leader who quit Congress in 2021

Amarinder Singh

In November, Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh resigned from the Congress, accusing party president Sonia Gandhi and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of hatching a "midnight conspiracy" to oust him.

The 79-year-old leader timed his bitter resignation letter with an announcement on the name of his new party. He resigned as the Punjab chief minister in September amid a bitter power tussle with Sidhu, the ex-cricketer favoured over him by the party high command.

Sushmita Dev

Congress leader Sushmita Dev quit the Congress in August. Dev, a former MP who led the Congress' women's wing for long, offered no reason for her quitting the party.

In her letter to Gandhi, Dev said she was beginning a "new chapter in my life of public service".

Jitin Prasada

Jitin Prasada, a former Union minister and prominent member of the Congress' young brigade that is headed by Rahul Gandhi joined the BJP ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

"I left the Congress not due to any individual or for any post. The reason I left the Congress was because there is a rising disconnect between the party and the people. And that is the reason, its vote share is shrinking in Uttar Pradesh and there is no plan to revive the party," Prasada had said while quitting.

He was among the group of 23 Congress leaders who had written to party president Sonia Gandhi last October seeking an organisational overhaul, triggering a storm within the party.

P.C. Chacko

In a blow to the Congress, Senior leader P C Chacko quit the Congress, alleging group interest in deciding party candidates during Kerala Assembly elections. He is the second senior leader to quit the nationalparty after Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Chacko, who headed the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G Spectrum during the second UPA rule, also alleged that the national leadership of the party has not been active for the last two years.

Mukul Sangma

In a massive jolt to the Congress in Meghalaya, 12 of its 17 MLAs led by former chief minister Mukul Sangma will join Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. The move came a day after three-term Congress MP from Bihar Kirti Azad, Ashok Tanwar joined TMC.

Sangma, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, was reportedly unhappy with the Congress's top leadership. He was peeved at the the appointment of Vincent H Pala without consulting him and the two did not get along well.