In a huge setback for the Haryana Congress ahead of polls later this month, former state party chief Ashok Tanwar resigned on Saturday.

Tanwar also made his announcement public with a tweet on his official Twitter handle.

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“After long deliberations with party workers and for reasons well known to all Congressman and public, I hereby resign from the primary membership of the @INCIndia,” the tweet read.

After long deliberations with party workers and for reasons well known to all Congressman and public, I hereby resign from the primary membership of the @INCIndia pic.twitter.com/qG9dYcV6u2

— Ashok Tanwar (@AshokTanwar_INC) October 5, 2019

Ashok Tanwar has been sulking ever since he was replaced by Kumari Selja as the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president.

Senior Congress party leader Gulam Nabi Azad had made the announcements at a press conference last month.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had approved the appointment of Kumari Selja as Haryana Congress chief.

Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who has been given the post of the Leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) AND therefore entitled to be the Chairman of the Haryana Election Management Committee, was adamant that Ashok Tanwar should be removed from the post. And, Ashok Tanwar did not want Bhupendra Singh Hooda to be the state party chief under any circumstances.

Playing the safe game, Congress appointed Selja as the HPCC president.

Ashok Tanwar has been openly attacking the affairs in the party, causing embarrassment to it.

Tanwar has alleged that party tickets were sold in Haryana. He, along with hundreds of supporters, even staged a protest outside the residence of interim President Sonia Gandhi here a few days back.

He attacked the coterie of Sonia Gandhi and alleged that “money power” was being used in Haryana and ordinary workers were being ignored.

“After long deliberations with party workers and for reasons well known to all Congressman and public, I hereby resign from the primary membership of the @INC India,” Tanwar, who was the party’s Dalit face, tweeted.

He wrote a four-page letter to Sonia Gandhi, saying the Congress party is facing “existential crisis not because of its political opponents but because of internal contradictions”.

He said hardworking workers, who rose from humble backgrounds and are not from political family, are not valued and “money blackmail and pressure tactics seem to work”.

He said people with vested interests are killing the party and many like him are victims of it.

The 90-member Haryana Assembly is set to go to polls on October 21. Counting of votes will take place on October 24 and the results will be declared on the same day.

Earlier on Friday, former Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam also had alleged that party has been taken over by sycophants and those close to Rahul Gandhi are being sidelined deliberately.

However, Congress has rejected this charge made by Nirupam and said everybody should restrain from speaking.