Inside story: Why Priyanka Chaturvedi left Congress and joined Shiv Sena
Priyanka Chaturvedi joined the Shiv Sena, claiming that she was let down by Congress after it reinstated party workers who misbehaved with her.
In Short
- Priyanka was unhappy with Congress after workers, who misbehaved with her in Mathura, were reinstated
- Chaturvedi held an important position in Congress, was known for influencing youth
- Sources said Shiv Sena will give an MLA ticket to Priyanka Chaturvedi
After Priyanka Chaturvedi joined the Shiv Sena on Friday afternoon, party chief Uddhav Thackeray immediately said that the Sena had got a new sister.
The step taken by Priyanka came as a shock to the Congress, especially in Mumbai, where it is going to polls on April 28.
Priyanka Chaturvedi held an important position in the Congress and was known for influencing the youth and social media.
Priyanka was unhappy with Congress after workers, who misbehaved with her in Mathura, were reinstated.
But was this the only reason for her to leave party or was she also unhappy when the party did not give her a ticket from Mumbai North? Here's what we know.
Recently, Priyanka Chaturvedi was in Mathura for holding a press conference on Rafale deal.
Priyanka and other Congress leaders were holding press conferences across the nation on Rafale deal.
However, during the conference, many Congress leaders from Mathura misbehaved with her. Priyanka was furious after the incident.
Sources said that when Priyanka left the conference, the leaders followed her to her room. Priyanka decided to file a complaint with the top leaders of the party.
The Mathura Congress leaders involved in the incident were: Ashok Chakleshwar, Umesh Pandit, Pratap Singh, Abdul Jabbar, Girdhari Lal Pathak, Bhuri Singh Jayas, Pravin Thakur and Yatindra Mukadam.
After Priyanka filed a complaint, the eight leaders were immediately suspended.
But on April 15, all of them were again reinstated back in the party after being given a strict warning. The leaders gave a written apology. Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is leading the Congress party in Western UP, intervened.
Priyanka was extremely upset after the eight leaders were reinstated to the party. She even expressed the same on Twitter a couple of days ago.
Sources said that this is when talks between Priyanka and Shiv Sena top leaders began. Only a few top leaders of Shiv Sena were kept in the loop.
All the other leaders came to know through the press conference, where Priyanka Chaturvedi mentioned that she left the Congress and joined the Shiv Sena as a woman's dignity was at stake.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, a youth icon, was with the Congress party for the last 10 years and enjoys a huge fan following.
However, sources within the Congress told a different story. There were a lot of differences in the Mumbai Congress before elections.
Senior Mumbai leaders were fighting with each other, while some did not even want to contest elections.
This is when Priyanka thought that the Congress will field her from Mumbai North seat for Lok Sabha elections. However, the ticket was given to Urmila Matondkar, and this angered Priyanka. After this, Priyanka started talks with the Shiv Sena leadership.
Sources also said that Shiv Sena will give an MLA ticket to Priyanka Chaturvedi, for which elections are due in six months in Maharashtra.
At the press conference on Friday, Priyanka also said that she quit the Congress and joined the Shiv Sena as she wanted to grow and move towards her aspirations. She said, "I was hopeful the party (Congress) would take me to another level but that did not happen."