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Urmila Matondkar Quits Congress, Cites In-Party Differences

Urmila Matondkar had joined the party five months ago in March ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

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Bollywood actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar has resigned from Congress party on Tuesday. She had joined the party five months ago in March ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

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Reasons Cited

According to ANI, Matondkar was unhappy with petty politics within the party. She was disillusioned with the way the Congress has performed. She has also cited "lack of leadership" and "in-fighting" as the major reasons behind her decision.

'It is obvious that the key functionaries of Mumbai congress are either unable to or not committed to bring about a transformation in the organization for the betterment of the party. My social and political sensibilities refuse to allow vested interests in the party to use me as a mean to fight petty in house politics instead of working on a larger goal in Mumbai Congress", she said. 

“First thought of resignation came to me when after my repeated efforts, no action was taken in pursuance of my letter dated 16th May, addressed to then Mumbai Congress President Mr Milind Deora,” she said in a statement.

She also objected to the “rewards” given to party leaders in Mumbai North despite their “shoddy performance in the Lok Sabha elections.” The party lost all the five seats in Mumbai in the 2019 elections.

Concluding her statement, Matondkar said she “stands by all (her) thoughts and ideologies and will continue to work for people to the best of my capacity with honesty and dignity.”

She also expressed concern over "an act of blatant betrayal" in connection with a letter sent to former Mumbai Congress President Milind Deora.

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Also: Priyanka Chaturvedi quits Congress, removes party name from social handles

Urmila Matondkar cited "lack of leadership" and "in-fighting" as the major reasons behind her decision.

Referring to the letter, Ms Matondkar said in her press note that it contained "privileged and confidential communication" that was conveniently leaked  to the media which according to her was "an act of blatant betrayal."

Urmila's political stint

Film actor and political novice Urmila Matondkar had stepped into the Lok Sabha contest in the midst of all the action and joined the Congress party. She contested from Mumbai North parliamentary seat of Maharashtra but lost to BJP’s Gopal Shetty by a huge margin. While Matondkar got 2.41 lakh votes, Shetty swept 7.06 lakh votes.

Bollywood career

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Matondkar established herself as an actress with movies like Rangeela, Judaai, Satya and Khoobsurat and the 2000 thriller Jungle. She also achieved success in Telugu and Tamil cinema with starring roles in Antham (1992), Gaayam (1993), Indian (1996) and Anaganaga Oka Roju (1997).

Also: Election 2019: How Stardom Fuelled These Women Actors’ Campaigns

Picture Credits: Zee News

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