Sanjay Nirupam has asked Urmila Matondkar to reconsider her decision to leave the Congress party

Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Tuesday requested Urmila Matondkar not to resign from the party due to "petty politics". This comes after Ms Matondkar, who joined the party in March, resigned from the Congress yesterday citing inaction on the part of "key functionaries of Mumbai Congress" for the "betterment of the organisation".

Speaking to the media, Mr Nirupam said, "I request Urmila Matondkar not to take such a big step due to petty politics. You are always welcome in the Congress party, please keep patience and work with the party."

He continued, "It is very unfortunate for me that Urmila has left the Congress party. After a great request, she had joined the party."

"After the Lok Sabha poll campaign, I went to her and congratulated her the way she did the campaign. I told her that she was very aggressive during the campaign and connected with the people. She has a great fan following. She has a future in Congress, I had requested her to keep away from internal petty politics. Otherwise, she will get frustrated," Mr Nirupam added.

The Congress leader further said, "The infighting should not be such a big issue that she left the party. There was infighting against me but I never left the party. The infighting takes place in every organisation and political party. It even exists in government organisations and even in the private sector."

Explaining the reason behind quitting, Urmila Matondkar, in her statement, also stated her "sensibilities refuse to allow vested interests in the party to use" her "as a means to fight petty in-house politics".

Ms Matondkar, who contested her debut election from Mumbai North constituency, lost to BJP leader Gopal Shetty by 4,65,000 votes.

