CONGRESS SUFFERS MAJOR SETBACK AFTER SHAKEEL AHAMED BIDS FAREWELL TO PARTY

CONGRESS SUFFERS MAJOR SETBACK AFTER SHAKEEL AHAMED BIDS FAREWELL TO PARTY

14-NOV-ENG 32

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA------------------------Voting for the second phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections has concluded. Now comes the results, which will be announced on November 14th. However, even before the results are announced, the Congress party has suffered a major setback. Senior Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed has bid farewell to the party.

Following the completion of the second phase, Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed issued a letter resigning from the party's primary membership, writing, "Honourable Speaker, please recall my letter dated April 16, 2023, in which I informed the party that I would not contest elections in the future. Recently, I also announced that my three sons live in Canada and none of them have any interest in joining politics, so they too will not contest elections. However, I will remain in the Congress party for the rest of my life. Mr. Speaker, this no longer seems possible." He wrote, "With a heavy heart, I have decided to resign from the Congress Party." Shakeel Ahmed wrote, "Leaving the party does not mean that I am joining any other party. I have no intention of joining any other party. Like my ancestors, I have unwavering faith in the policies and principles of the Congress Party. I will remain a well-wisher and supporter of the Congress party's policies and principles throughout my life, and my last vote will be cast in Congress's favor."

Shakeel Ahmed wrote, "For your information, my grandfather, the late Ahmed Gafur, was elected as a Congress MLA in 1937. After his death in 1948, my father, Shakoor Ahmed, was elected as an MLA five times between 1952 and 1977 on a Congress ticket, holding various positions. After my father's death in 1981, I myself was elected as a Congress MLA and MP five times since 1985." Shakeel Ahmed wrote that he had already decided to resign from the party, but he was announcing it today after the voting was over because he did not want any wrong message to go out before the voting and that he would cause the party to lose even five votes.

He wrote that due to ill health, he was unable to campaign, but he hoped that this time the Congress's seats would increase and that our alliance would form a strong government. Finally, he would like to reiterate that he may have differences with some of the people currently in power in the party, but he has unshakable faith in the party's policies and principles. Please consider this letter as his resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress Party.