New Delhi: Barely two days after Rajya Sabha MP and ‘Amethi ka raja’ Sanjay Sinh criticised the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for illegally detaining Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over the Sonbhadra issue, the senior leader quit the Congress and gave up his parliamentary membership.
“Every party needs dialogue, but the Congress doesn’t allow this and nor does it have any leadership,” Sinh said, while announcing his resignation.
Sources said his move didn’t come as a surprise to many as he was earlier with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was only later that the Congress gave him a Rajya Sabha ticket from Assam even as there were huge protests from the state unit for fielding an outsider.
But Sinh was important for the grand old party to ensure former party chief Rahul Gandhi’s win from Amethi in 2014. Even then some party leaders are said to have warned Rahul against him.
A constant rebel, Sinh had, in fact, contested from Amethi on a BJP ticket in 1998. However, since then, he had been loyal to the Congress and Gandhi’s. It was said that Sinh and his wife Ameeta were given the charge of looking after the party affairs in Amethi in Sonia and Rahul Gandhi’s absence.
Sources said his disillusionment with the Congress started developing over time as he felt he was never given his due. He wasn’t made a minister when the Congress-led UPA government was in power at the Centre. And when talks of a new party president of the Uttar Pradesh unit came up, Sinh was overlooked.
There were enough worrying signs for the Congress, but the party tried to downplay it. It also seemed to bring out the growing distance between the Gandhis and the party.
Another source said, “Priyanka is getting her own team whose members don’t involve us. We don’t know her schedule. She doesn’t even consult us, what are we to do?” There is anger individuals like Ajay Lallu and Sandeep Singh, are now part of the core team, even as old-timers have started feeling left out.
Sinh and many like him see no future in the party that is yet to come out of its leadership crisis. It has been almost two months since Rahul resigned as president and till date, no one knows who is calling the shots. For many, it makes sense to look for greener pastures.
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