Mumbai: Putting all speculations to rest, Milind Deora finally announced his exit from the Congress party today, January 14. Deora, after a two- generation association with the Congress quit the party to join Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena party.In an announcement, made on X (formerly Twitter), Deora claimed that he was concluding a “significant chapter” of his political journey. While his post didn’t elaborate about his next steps, he headed to Shiv Sena founding leader Bal Thackeray’s memorial. By noon, Deora had visited the CM’s bungalow Varsha in south Mumbai and had formally joined the Shinde faction.Deora, a former union minister, said that with his exit he was ending his “family’s 55-year relationship with the Congress party.”Although Deora joined the Shinde faction formally today, his decision to quit the Congress party was long in the making. The timing, however, is what the Congress party leaders have criticised. “Deora’s exit has not come as a surprise to both the Congress or the media. But just look at the day he chose to leave the party. Right when the Congress began the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Imphal,” a senior Congress party leader said.The leader also reminded of the September 1 INDIA bloc meeting in Mumbai. As the meeting of the opposition in Mumbai gained momentum, the Narendra Modi-led government had announced a committee headed by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of ‘One Nation One Election’ that aims for holding of general and state elections simultaneously.The party’s communications chief Jairam Ramesh told The Indian Express that Deora was worried about the Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat, which he has contested the last four elections and represented from 2004 to 2014, going to the Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray that is now the Congress’s ally. Before Deora, it was his father, Murli Deora, a staunch Congress loyalist, who was elected from the constituency for at least four terms. But Milind Deora lost the seat both in the 2014 and 2019 elections.The Mumbai South seat became a bone of contention after the Uddhav Thackeray led Sena (UBT) wanted to lay claims on the seat as MP Arvind Sawant, one of the few Thackeray loyalists, has a good clout in the constituency. Deora lost both 2014 and 2019 elections against Sawant.Now with Deora’s exit, the seat might after all remain with the Thackeray faction.Ramesh told the Indian Express that Deora wanted him to intervene and put in a word with Rahul Gandhi. “He spoke to me on Friday. He wanted me to explain to Rahul Gandhi that his seat was going. He said he is concerned. He messaged me at 2.48 pm. I spoke to him at 3.40 pm. I told him to meet Rahul and explain,” Ramesh said.The South Mumbai constituency, considered a posh part of the city, comprises both skyscrapers and sprawling slums. The constituency has for long remained loyal to the Congress party. But it changed in 2014.Asked about Deora’s exit, Thackery faction’s leader and Saamna newspapers editor Sanjay Raut said, “Sawant is a two-time MP. What is wrong with him contesting once again?” He further added that his party won’t make any compromise on this front.In 2012, when Milind Deora entered Lok Sabha, he was 29-year-old. He was one of the youngest MPs and considered to be very close to Rahul Gandhi.Deora had blamed the “Modi wave” in the 2014 election for losing an otherwise safe congress seat. However, in 2019, despite concerted efforts from the party and even an endorsement from Mukesh Ambani – one of the biggest industrialists in the country – he could not salvage the seat. He was the Mumbai chief of the party at the time and had quit abruptly from his post in the middle of the campaign to focus on his personal efforts to win back the seat.
