Mumbai: Senior Congress leader and former member of Parliament Milind Deora quit the party Sunday, to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena hours later. Deora, a former Mumbai Congress chief, announced his decision to quit the party on social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), saying he was ending his family’s 55-year-old relationship with the Congress.
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…
— Milind Deora | मिलिंद देवरा ☮️ (@milinddeora) January 14, 2024
Deora is the son of late Congress leader Murli Deora.
Joining the Shinde-led Shiv Sena hours later, Deora said, “It’s an emotional day for me. I had never thought I would leave Congress. My politics has always been positive constructive and development-oriented. And we all know that the CM [Eknath Shinde] is accessible and hard-working. His vision for Mumbai and Maharashtra is very big and I want to support him. I want to thank him and Shrikant Shinde [Eknath’s son and Shiv Sena member] for believing in me.”
He added: “Along with him (Shinde), PM Modi and Amit Shah have a great vision for the country and I want to support them.”
Deora cited similarities between his father and Shinde and said “Shinde saheb and my father Murli bhai have similarities. They both rose from the ground level to the way up.”
Talking about his departure from the Congress, Deora said, “Unfortunately, today’s Congress and 1968 and 2004 Congress are different. If the Congress and the UBT [Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray] had given importance to merit and capability, then Eknath ji and I would not have taken this decision [a reference to Shinde’s rebellion against the then Thackeray-led unified Shiv Sena in 2022].”
“Today, they (Congress) are abusing industrialists, and calling them anti-nationals. They are not constructive anymore. Today they are just opposing Modi ji. I believe in GAIN —growth, aspiration, inclusivity and nationalism. Not in PAIN — personal attack, injustice and negativity,” he highlighted.
Addressing the media, Eknath Shinde welcomed Deora and said, “The emotions you displayed, I had the same emotions one-and-half-years ago. But we have to take such bold steps. I welcome you and give you my wishes.”
Considered a close associate of Rahul Gandhi, Deora made the announcement of quitting the Congress on the day the latter started his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra — the second part of his earlier Bharat Jodo Yatra — from east to west India. Started from Manipur, the Yatra is scheduled to conclude in Mumbai in March.
Deora was a minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, but lost his Mumbai South seat to Sena candidate Arvind Sawant twice, in both the 2014 and 2019 general elections. He was made a joint treasurer of the All India Congress Committee on 24 December.
Expressing disappointment at Deora’s decision to leave the Congress, Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad told ThePrint, “This is a very unfortunate decision and I am personally hurt.”
“The relationship between Congress and Deora family is very deep. And we, including the Maharashtra in-charge, leaders in Delhi, tried to convince him otherwise,” she added.
Talking about the timing of the announcement, she said, “It is most unfortunate that the decision was taken on the day the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is starting. We all are fighting against the conditions in the country, and Rahul Gandhi is bringing everyone together. And that’s why I am more hurt that this decision was taken today.”
Disappointment over Deora’s decision was also expressed by Maharashtra Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Balasaheb Thorat, who took to the social media platform X (previously Twitter), to post, “Our colleague Milind Deora’s decision to quit the party is unfortunate. He has unsuccessfully tried to tarnish the Yatra by choosing the day of the start of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra to resign. His father wouldn’t have liked this attempt.”
Deora had been reportedly unhappy with the possibility of incumbent MP Arvind Sawant — a member of Congress ally Shiv Sena (UBT) — being fielded from the Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat for the 2024 elections. The constituency was held by Deora’s family for 40 years.
However, Gaikwad said that if seat-sharing was the reason behind his decision to quit, he should have waited until discussions were finalised.
“So far the seat-sharing talks are not finalised. So why did he not wait? We have been continuously talking on various seats. This is a wrong move in my opinion. If Murli bhai (Murli Deora) had been alive, he would not have taken such a decision as he stayed with Congress in good and bad times. The party has given so much to the family,” she added.
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Deora’s growing discontent
Last month, Deora had a spat with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, when the latter said that his party would contest 23 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, and the seat-sharing talks with the Congress have to “start from zero”.
Deora responded by saying, “I want to tell Sanjay Raut that any alliance cannot move forward without consultation with the Maharashtra Congress leadership.” He also objected to Raut’s contention that, despite losing 40 MLAs to the Shinde faction — following a rebellion in the erstwhile undivided Shiv Sena, which split the party into two — Shiv Sena (UBT) is the largest party in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had formed government in Maharashtra in 2019, till a rebellion by present Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in 2022, not only caused the Sena to split but also the MVA government to collapse. The Shinde faction then went on to form government in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They were joined by a group of NCP leaders, led by Ajit Pawar, last year.
Meanwhile, Deora and Shiv Sena (UBT) continued to lock horns over the Mumbai South constituency.
Deora was reportedly also unhappy when Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray held a rally in the constituency earlier this month. In a video statement issued last Sunday, Deora said Mumbai South has traditionally been with the Congress and the Deoras are associated with this constituency for years.
“My family is connected with voters here based on the work done by us and this relationship developed over the years,” said Deora.
This is not the first time Deora has been at odds with others in the alliance, or even within the Congress.
In 2019, a spat between former Mumbai chief Sanjay Nirupam and Deora had been reported. In a post on social media, Deora had then said, “While I do not intend to discuss internal party affairs in public, remarks made in a recent interview have forced me to repeat my strong commitment towards the need for the Mumbai Congress to remain a symbol of Mumbai’s diversity and to strengthen its social fabric.”
After losing the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, Deora stepped down from the post of Congress’s Mumbai chief saying he wanted to play a national-level role.
Even in 2022, during the Rajya Sabha elections, Deora had expected his nomination from Maharashtra, but Imran Pratapgarhi was chosen over him, causing “unrest and panic” among the local unit. There had also been speculations at the time that Deora might resign.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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