Mumbai, September 10: Actress-turned politician Urmila Matondkar, who joined the Congress party ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, resigned from the party on Tuesday. Matondkar cited the "in-house politics" in Mumbai Congress as the reason for her quitting. In her first reaction on leaving the party, she added that her "political and social sensibilities refuse to allow vested interests in the party to use me as a mean to fight petty in-house politics instead of working on a bigger goal in Mumbai Congress." Urmila Matondkar Speaks on Jammu and Kashmir Communication Blackout, Says Unable to Contact Her In-Laws Since 22 Days.

Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar had joined the Indian National Congress (INC) on March 27, 2019. The actress turned politician took the political plunge after meeting Mumbai Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, said reports. Matondkar had joined the Congress just days ahead of the first phase of polling for Lok Sabha Elections 2019. Urmila Matondkar Joins Congress Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Meets Rahul Gandhi.

Matondkar fought the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections on Congress ticket from the Mumbai North parliamentary seat against BJP's Gopal Shetty. Matondkar had lost by close to 4 lakh votes.

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Urmila Matondkar's resignation only further proves the chaos in the Mumbai Congress. The fight for leadership has pleaqued Mumbai Congress even before the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. There was open fallout between Congress Mumbai leaders Sanjay Nirupam and Milind Deora.

After the dismal show by the Congress-NCP combine in the general elections, Congress  appointed Balasaheb Thorat as Mumbai president to prepare for the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections. However, Matondkar resigning from the Congress ahead of the assembly elections is another setback for the party in the state.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 10, 2019 03:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).