Rahul Gandhi's Vanishing Team: 9 Big Leaders Who Quit Congress Since 2019

The Congress suffered a big jolt today ahead of its mega yatra that aims to boost workers' morale ahead of the upcoming national elections. Senior leader Milind Deora's resignation marks the end of his family's 55-year relationship with the party, he said in an online post.

Here are some of the biggest Congress exits in the past few years:

Milind Deora

Former Union Minister Milind Deora, son of Congress veteran Murli Deora, resigned from the Congress on Sunday. He is expected to join the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde later in the day. He had recently expressed displeasure over the Uddhav Thackeray faction, a part of the opposition alliance, claiming to contest from the Mumbai South seat.

Hardik Patel

Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel quit the Congress in May 2022 with his resignation letter pummelling Rahul Gandhi, who had brought him into the party in 2019. Top leaders, he wrote in his letter, "were distracted by their mobile phones" and the Gujarat Congress was more interested in ensuring "chicken sandwiches" for them. He joined the BJP a month later.

Ashwani Kumar

Ashwani Kumar, a former Union minister, resigned from the Congress in February 2022, just days before Punjab went to polls. A party veteran, he was the first senior UPA cabinet minister to quit the party following their drubbing in the 2019 elections.

Sunil Jakhar

Sunil Jakhar, who had headed the Punjab Congress unit, quit the party in 2022 after the leadership showcaused him for criticising then chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi. He joined the BJP in May and was named its Punjab unit chief in July that year.

RPN Singh

Former Union minister RPN Singh quit the Congress and joined the BJP on January 2022, becoming the most prominent leader to do so just before Uttar Pradesh elections. Mr Singh, a key backward caste leader, had reportedly been upset over being sidelined in the UP campaign led by Priyanka Gandhi.

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Jyotiraditya Scindia, now a Union minister, quit the Congress and joined the BJP in 2020, engineering a mass defection that brought down the Kamal Nath government and helped Shivraj Singh Chouhan get back at the helm in Madhya Pradesh. The royal scion is the son of Madhavrao Scindia, a former Union Minister.

Jitin Prasada

Jitin Prasada, a former Union minister who was once close to Rahul Gandhi, crossed over to the BJP in 2021, a year before the Uttar Pradesh elections. He was the Congress's top Brahmin face in UP. "BJP is the only real political party. It's the only national party. The rest are regional," he had said defending his decision.

Alpesh Thakor

Alpesh Thakor, a former Congress MLA, quit the party in July 2019 after voting against the party candidate in bypolls to two Rajya Sabha seats. He joined the BJP days later and was fielded for the bypoll from Radhapur, but lost the seat. He won from Gandhinagar South in last year's elections.

Anil Antony

Anil Antony, son of Congress veteran AK Antony, quit the party in January last year and joined the BJP next month, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having a very clear vision of putting India in a leading place. AK Antony, a former defence minister, had expressed anguish and disappointment over his son's decision.