Delhi Congress vice-president Ali Mehdi jumped ship twice within a few hours on Friday. He defected to the AAP in the morning, but returned to the Congress late in the evening and released a video, apologising “for the huge mistake” he had made. While he was welcomed back into the party fold by senior leaders, residents of North-East Delhi’s Mustafabad constituency, where he contested from in the 2020 Assembly polls, said they would need more than an apology video to be convinced of his loyalty before the 2025 polls. Mehdi is the son of Hasan Ahmed, a former legislator from Mustafabad (2008-2015). Owing to his father’s strong influence in the area, Mehdi’s road to the present post was a fairly easy one. The 37-year-old comes from “an old Congress family”, said Anil Kumar Chaudhary, the president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC). Mehdi was an active member of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the students' unit of the Congress. He joined it as a student of Delhi University’s Dyal Singh College, and went on to become the organisation’s general secretary. A practising lawyer, Mehdi did a bachelor’s in legislative law from Government Law College in Mumbai. मैं राहुल गांधी जी का कार्यकर्ता हू 🙏 pic.twitter.com/sA9LPuk0kn — Ali Mehdi🇮🇳 (@alimehdi_inc) December 9, 2022 Hasan contested and won his first Assembly election from Mustafabad in 2008. He became the chairman of the Congress’s minority department in 2015 and held onto the post for seven years. Mehdi runs an NGO called Al Qalam Foundation, which is focused on minority development, women empowerment, and communal harmony. His first experience of electoral politics was in 2003, when he campaigned for his father, who was contesting from the Karawal Nagar constituency after losing the 1993 Assembly polls from the Okhla seat. “His loss at the time was due to the uproar following the Babri Masjid demolition,” Mehdi said, adding: “I have known the area (North-East Delhi) since 2003.” Contesting from Mustafabad in the 2020 Assembly polls, Mehdi could only garner 5,363 votes and lagged behind both the AAP and the BJP candidates, with a vote share of 2.89 per cent. Mehdi was subsequently made one of the five vice-presidents of the DPCC. A longtime party worker at the helm of various activities, his sudden exit along with two MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) councillors was shocking to many. Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken was among the ones to express disappointment after Mehdi quit. Sharing an old video of Mehdi attacking Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Twitter, Maken said: “Ali bhai, did not expect this from you! Which form of yours should we consider real? AAP's office, or this party, where he won the election by speaking against AAP? Ups and downs come and go in politics. Our wishes are not always fulfilled in the party, but party and ideology are paramount. Why you did this is beyond comprehension.” अली भाई आपसे यह उम्मीद नहीं थी! आपके किस रूप को असली समझें? AAP के दफ़्तर की, या इस जलसे की, जहां AAP के खिलाफ बोल कर चुनाव जीता?👇 राजनीती में उतार चढ़ाव आते-जाते हैं।हमेशा पार्टी में हमारी इच्छा पूरी नहीं होती,पर पार्टी और विचारधारा सर्वोपरी है। ऐसा क्यों करा? समझ से परे है। — Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) December 9, 2022 Manu Jain, Congress social media in-charge, called Mehdi a “snake”. However, both have been silent about Mehdi’s return to the Congress. Chaudhary, however, has softened his stand already. “Ali knew it was wrong. People made him see how unacceptable it was. He has corrected his mistake. Arvind (Kejriwal) was targeting our councillors. They left in the morning but came back home before the night set in, and that is what matters. I am glad that they listened to the mandate of the people.” Speaking to The Indian Express, Mehdi said, “I want to apologise to all my constituents, party workers and senior leaders. I have let them down with this abominable act. Emotions took the better of me and I decided to join the AAP, something I should never have done. They approached me in 2020 with an AAP ticket. I could have become the MLA, but I am loyal to my party and my constituents and had nothing to gain by changing parties.” Accusing the AAP of “emotionally blackmailing” him, he said, “Some people from the AAP contacted me. They said they wanted me and the corporators to join the party. They said they would give me double the money for my ward.” While Mehdi chose to ignore the flare-ups at Mustafabad – his effigies were burnt – by pinning blame on the All India Majlis-e-ittehadul Musilimeen (AIMIM) “riling up the youth to agitate”, residents of the area felt “Ali bhai” betrayed them. “He is from Okhla, not even Mustafabad. He was trying to tap the Muslim voters and his father was an MLA here for a long time. We won’t trust him again,” said 55-year-old Mohammad Mursaleem, who runs a grocery store in the area. Zaki Hussain, a self-proclaimed AAP supporter, quipped that "no one can be sure if he will stick around with Congress this time." “Mehdi bagged around 5,000 votes in 2020. With this episode, even those voters would think twice before supporting him if he is to contest again,” he added. Days before the incident, Mehdi had said, “The Delhi riots happened after speeches by BJP leaders. No FIR has been filed against them. It was the Congress who stepped in. I contested and lost from the constituency in the 2020 Assembly polls, but we went around and exhorted people to maintain communal harmony. Even the Delhi CM did not even visit once. AAP failed the people and it will be reflected in these elections. Not a single brick has been added to the roads that Congress paved during Sheila Dikshit’s regime.” Reacting to the political drama, a Congress worker in Brijpuri said, “We will never support these backstabbers. Ali Mehdi has defamed Hasan’s name and that of Congress. We will make sure Ali does not get a ticket to contest the Assembly elections ever again.” Mehdi’s Twitter bio currently reads: “Worker of Rahul Gandhi.”
