Rajendra Darda quits Congress party post

Mumbai: Congress received a jolt on Monday as its senior leader Rajendra Darda quit a party post ahead of Assembly polls citing personal reasons. He has, however, insisted that he will remain with the party.

Mr Darda, who is a former state Cabinet minister, said he is still with the party and claimed he refused to take a post offered recently due to ‘personal reasons’. He added he had not resigned from the Congress.

“I was appointed as chairperson of the media and communication committee of the Congress three months ago. But I told them I would not be able to take up the post due to personal reasons. I had told the party leadership in July itself. But I have not resigned from the Congress,” he said.

Mr Darda is a former MLA from Aurangabad for 15 years and has a good following in the Aurangabad region. He is also a top functionary of the Lokmat media group.

Meanwhile, an influential and established North Indian leader, Kripashankar Singh, who resigned from the Congress 12 days ago, on Sunday said that he would not contest the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election.

Mr Singh also clarified that he would not join any party, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).