Lok Sabha polls: Badli MLA Devender Yadav is interim Delhi Congress chief

The Congress on party on Tuesday has announced the appointment of Devender Yadav as the interim president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee. Devender Yadav, who was an MLA from Delhi's Badli, is presently the Congress's Punjab in-charge.

Yadav will also continue in his role as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Punjab, the party said.

The decision follows the resignation of former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, who stepped down amidst the Lok Sabha polls, criticising the party high command over the party's alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the elections in Delhi.

In a statement, the Congress stated, "Hon'ble Congress President has appointed Shri Devender Yadav as the interim President of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect. He will continue in his role as AICC In-charge for Punjab."

Lovely accused the high command of taking the decision without keeping him in the loop, and said the PCC was taken into confidence about the candidates only before the official declaration.

In his resignation letter, Lovely, who assumed the role of Delhi Congress chief in August last year, strongly opposed the alliance with the AAP. He specifically disagreed with the nominations of Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj from North-East Delhi and North-West Delhi constituencies, respectively. Despite this, the party leadership proceeded with the alliance.

Under the seat-sharing agreement within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), the Congress is contesting three of Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats, while the AAP is contesting the remaining four. In Punjab, both Congress and AAP are contesting independently.