Delhi ex-min Rajendra Pal Gautam quits AAP for Congress

New Delhi

Former Delhi minister and Dalit leader Rajendra Pal Gautam quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and stepped down as the legislator of Seemapuri on Friday, following which he joined the Congress, saying he sought “to accelerate the struggle for social justice”.

In his resignation to AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, Gautam accused the party of ignoring Dalit interests under the influence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“...to accelerate the struggle for social justice and participation and involvement of Bahujan Samaj in all fields, I am resigning from all the posts and membership of Aam Aadmi Party. Jai Bheem!” Gautam said in a post on X, attaching his three-page resignation letter.

The AAP brushed off Gautam’s decision as a political decision. “This is politics; people come and go, best wishes to Rajendra Pal Gautam for his political future. Many who feel that party will not give them a ticket change sides during elections,” AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar said.

Welcoming him into the party fold, Congress leader KC Venugopal said: “(Gautam is) one of the important figures in country’s political spectrum. We are very happy to receive his letter asking us to take him into the party. The reason which he is indicating to join the Congress, he is giving more happiness to us…We are very happy to induct him into the Indian National Congress.”

Gautam, who has represented Seemapuri in the Delhi assembly since 2015, served on Kejriwal’s cabinet since 2016. He has been one of the popular Dalit faces of the party.

Gautam is the third senior leader of AAP after Raaj Kumar Anand and Kartar Singh Tanwar, and the second Dalit leader, after Anand, to quit the AAP in the run-up to next year’s assembly polls.

“I have continuously felt that the AAP, under the influence of BJP’s ideology, is neglecting the interests of the minority and Bahujan societies. I had hoped that the party would make some changes to its policies and would directly confront the challenges faced by oppressed, minority and marginalised communities... I am deeply disappointed to say that my hopes were in vain. The party supports members from higher castes even when they face allegations,” Gautam said.

Gautam joined the Congress two years after his presence at a “mass religious conversion” event in October 2022 triggered a political row. He resigned subsequently, accusing the BJP of playing “dirty politics” and alleging threat calls from right-wing individuals.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva termed Gautam “infamous for being anti-Sanatan Dharma” and a close associate of Arvind Kejriwal. “We have nothing to say if they are happy doing so (accepting Gautam). Due to his outspoken opposition to Sanatan Dharma, he became a political liability for the AAP, leaving Congress as his only political option. At Kejriwal’s behest, Congress has given the honour of including Rajendra Pal Gautam from the national Congress platform rather than just the Delhi Congress platform,” Sachdeva said.