Former Union Minister Ashwini Kumar quits Congress

Kumar, who was with the Congress for four decades, called his decision "consistent with my dignity".

In his resignation letter, the former Union Law Minister, who worked under Singh from 2009 to 2014, wrote to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi as reported by several news agencies, "Having given my thoughtful consideration to the matter, I have concluded that in the present circumstances and consistent with my dignity, I can best subserve larger national cause outside the party fold."

Trying to reason on why Congress has been marginalised in Indian politics since 2014, Kumar told The Indian Express, "The continuous decline of the Congress in terms of vote percentage, in terms of popular support clearly shows that the party is out of sync with the way the nation thinks."

Kumar's exit adds more trouble for the Congress, which is facing exodus amid the elections in five states.

Earlier, former Union Minister RPN Singh had quit Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, where elections are presently underway.

Last year, another Uttar Pradesh Congress leader Jitin Prasada dumped the party and later joined the saffron camp.

Congress is already facing criticisms from its own leaders, some 23 who are dubbed as 'G-23', who have expressed their dissatisfaction to Gandhi over the functioning of the party.