Milind Deora, Jyotiraditya Scindia resign: List of Congress leaders who quit post Lok Sabha poll debacle

The Congress party has been under some serious trouble after its 2019 Lok Sabha poll debacle. The grand old party managed to grab only 52 seats with its president Rahul Gandhi losing party’s bastion Amethi to BJP’s Smriti Irani. Soon after the results came to the foray, the voices of dissent started emerging within the party. Rahul Gandhi himself resigned from the post of the party president which followed by a slew of resignations.

On July 3, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and announced his resignation with a four-page note, ending speculations around him continuing at the helm of affairs within the party. He took the responsibility for the disastrous performance of the party in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.

Here’s a list of Congress members who have tendered their resignations in the days that followed:

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from his post on Sunday, taking responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls. “Accepting the people’s verdict and taking accountability, I had submitted my resignation as General Secretary of AICC to Shri @RahulGandhi.  “I thank him for entrusting me with this responsibility and for giving me the opportunity to serve our party,” Scindia tweeted.

Milind Deora

Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora on Sunday announced his resignation from the post and said he is looking forward to play a role at the national level to help stabilise the party. He recommended setting up of a provisional collective leadership comprising three senior Congress leaders to oversee the party’s city unit till the Maharashtra assembly polls, which are due later this year. When contacted, Deora said political realities have changed since the Lok Sabha results. “We all will have to get ready for roles that these times demand,” he said.  Taking on the BJP-Shiv Sena and negating the impact of the ‘Vanchit Aghadi’ is a challenge for the Congress in Maharashtra, a statement issued by Deora’s office on Sunday said.

Harish Rawat

Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat announced his resignation as the Congress general secretary in-charge of Assam on Thursday, taking moral responsibility of the party's poor show in the north-eastern state in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls. Rawat said as the in-charge of party affairs in Assam, he was responsible for the below-par performance of the Congress in the parliamentary polls and thus, had decided to step down from the post. The resignation comes in the wake of Rahul Gandhi resigning as the Congress chief on Wednesday. "We the office bearers of the Congress are responsible for the party's defeat and organisational failure. I am responsible for the below-expected result of the party in Assam as in-charge of the state. I accept my shortcoming and resign as general secretary in-charge of state," Rawat said on Twitter.

Sunil Jakhar

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Sunil Jakhar also tendered his resignation after the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. However, there was no word on the acceptance of his resignation from the high command. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and other party MLAs had passed a resolution in a meeting urging the high command to not accept Jakhar’s resignation.

Raj Babbar:

In the wake of the Congress' dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, state party president Raj Babbar has sent his resignation to Rahul Gandhi. Congress managed to win only the Rae Bareli constituency of Sonia Gandhi in the politically crucial state, which sends 80 MPs to the Lower House. UP chief Babbar has sent his resignation to Congress president Rahul Gandhi taking responsibility for the party's showing in the just-concluded polls, a spokesman of the party's state unit Rajiv Bakshi told PTI here.

Nana Patole

Congress’ farmer wing leader from Maharashtra Nana Patole too quit as the Kisan Congress chief. In the Lok Sabha elections, Patole had lost to BJP’s Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur seat. He tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi is firm on not withdrawing his resignation as Congress president. Loss is a collective responsibility. Hence, I am resigning from the post of chairman of Kisan Congress- AICC and dismissing Kisan Congress body. We are in the interest of the nation standing with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party.”