Former Union Minister and Congress campaign committee chairman Ajay Maken was on Monday appointed as the chief of party’s unit in Delhi, where the Congress recently faced their worst-ever defeat in Assembly elections.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi announced Maken’s name to head the Delhi Congress Pradesh Committee (DPCC) and help revive the party’s image and boost the morale of the workers in the national Capital.
The post for DPCC chief fell vacant after the resignation of Arvinder Singh lovely, who quit the post after taking full responsibility for the party’s defeat in the Assembly polls.
Moreover, Maken’s return as DPCC chief was a foregone conclusion after he was made the Congress campaign committee chief for Assembly polls and the party was also looking to replace the face of three-term Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit with a known face.
Maken was among 66 candidates who forfeited their deposit from Sadar Bazar during the recent Assembly polls. This was the second major defeat for Congress in Delhi.
After scoring a duck in the 2014 Assembly polls, Maken’s appointment also reflects that the Congress is preparing a revamp in Delhi and wants the reins of party affairs to remain in the hands of a known face.
After the rout in Assembly polls this year, both Maken and DPCC chief Arvinder Singh lovely submitted their resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi as AICC general secretary and PCC chief, respectively.
In 1993, Maken became a member of legislative Assembly of Delhi Congress winning by a margin of around 4,000 votes. He won when only 14 out of 70 candidates of Congress could win the elections to legislative Assembly of Delhi. He had played an important role in privatisation of power distribution system and introducing CNG following the apex court order. Maken was also strong supporters of controversial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor in Delhi.