Milind Deora quits Congress, joins Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, January 14

Former Union Minister Milind Deora on Sunday joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after quitting the Congress earlier in the day.

The former South Mumbai Lok Sabha MP joined the ruling party at a function in Varsha, the official residence of the Chief Minister, in the afternoon.

In a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Deora had earlier announced his resignation from the Congress ending his family’s 55-year-old relationship.

He was upset about Shiv Sen UBT, an INDIA bloc ally, staking claim to South Mumbai, for the upcoming General Election, a seat Deora wanted for himself.

Deora was MP from South Mumbai in 2004 and 2009 but lost in 2014 and 2019.

Earlier, his father late Murali Deora, a senior minister under the Congress-led UPA regimes, represented the constituency.

Milind’s exit follows a pattern of young leaders quitting the Congress.

Earlier, Jyotiradha Scindia, Jitin Prasad, RPN Singh, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Sushmita Dev and Jaiveer Shergill had resigned from the Congress to join BJP or other parties. Chaturvedi joined Sena UBT and Sushmita TMC.

The resignation could hit Congress prospects in Maharashtra where it is involved in a hard seat-sharing bargain with INDIA parties — NCP and Sena-UBT — for the 42 Lok Sabha seats.

“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,” Deora said announcing his exit from the Grand Old Party.

Congress general secretary organisation Jairam Ramesh said the timing of Milind’s resignation had clearly been determined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahul Gandhi is commending his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur today.