Hours after quitting Congress, Priyanka Chaturvedi joins Shiv Sena

In her resignation letter, Chaturvedi talks of her aspirations being taken care of

Priyanka Chaturvedi Twitter Priyanka Chaturvedi | Twitter handle of Priyanka Chaturvedi

Former Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi joined the Shiv Sena on Friday, hours after she quit the grand old party.

Chaturvedi joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of party chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai. Chaturvedi declared she wanted to “work for the welfare of Mumbai”. Chaturvedi alleged she had been “trolled” for raising women's issues.

Shortly after news of her resignation went viral, a Shiv Sena leader claimed Chaturvedi would join his party on Friday itself. Sanjay Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP and executive editor of Saamana, was quoted by ANI news agency.

Hours after reports of her resignation emerged on Friday morning, Chaturvedi uploaded her resignation letter on her Twitter handle. Chaturvedi had criticised the Congress in a tweet on Wednesday for reinstating some party workers who allegedly misbehaved with her in Mathura. This incident has been considered one of the main factors that triggered her resignation.

However, the contents of her resignation letter are bound to fuel speculation of unmet political ambitions.

In the letter addressed to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Chaturvedi mentioned that she and her family, including kids, had to “face personal threats, slander and abuse”. Chaturvedi wrote, “I have not asked, sought rewards or returns for myself in the hope that party and its leadership will take care of my aspirations”.

“In the last few weeks, certain things have convinced me that my services are not valued in the organisation and that I have reached the end of the road,” Chaturvedi wrote.

Chaturvedi also accused the Congress of not acting on its promises of promoting "safety, dignity and empowerment” of women, citing the inaction against some Congress members who allegedly misbehaved with her. She declared "this indignity to me has been the final factor to convince me to move on and focus on other things outside INC".