Former Kerala Governor and erstwhile Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is back in the reckoning in Delhi politics. She has been made chairperson of the Congress Organising Committee on the country’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth anniversary. Delhi Congress will hold a rally at Talkatora Stadium to match programmes by the NDA on the 125th birth anniversary on November 14 in a big way more so as it believes that there are deliberate attempts to scuttle the importance of “Nehruvianism” after coming to power of the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government at the Centre.
Delhi Congress leaders have been asked to ensure a full house as Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi are expected to address the rally which is also being perceived as a show of strength before the run-up to Delhi Assembly elections. The move is also being seen as a kick-start of campaigning for the upcoming Assembly polls in the National Capital.
Dikshit has been the face of Delhi Congress in the Capital for the last 15 years and she had the rare distinction of winning Delhi elections for three successive terms. She was once hailed as the face of development in the city, hence leaving her out of the scheme of things when Delhi is going for Assembly polls would have been politically incorrect.
Dikshit has been made chairperson of Congress group to implement programmes related to Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary celebrations. A section of the Congress legislators are reportedly in favour of contesting the Delhi Assembly elections under the leadership of Dikshit. Six of the eight MlAs are likely to convey this to Rahul Gandhi early next week. While Dikshit has repeatedly maintained that she is not interested in contesting Delhi polls, a senior party leader explained that Dikshit had never ever said that she would decline any such offer from her party leadership.
The party leader said that Dikshit had always said that she would follow the directions of her party leadership and would work for the party’s welfare till her last breath. The same group had earlier had met Sonia Gandhi few months back to impress upon her that Sheila Dikshit should be brought back and Congress should contest Assembly elections under her leadership.
It is noted that rumors were doing the round in the political circle that Dikshit and her son Sandeep Dikshit has been kept out from the eight-member panel which reportedly constituted by the Rahul Gandhi to oversee the election strategy in Delhi Assembly polls.
When asked about 125th Nehru birth anniversary, Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh lovely told The Pioneer that Delhi Congress has decided to celebrate the 125 birth anniversary of Pandit Nehru at Talkatora Stadium on November 14 in a big way. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi are expected to address the party workers. Delhi Congress has been directed to ensure full house of the stadium on the occasion.
lovely said that the Pradesh Congress is working hard to make the event successful on November 14. The function will further help to boost the morale of the party workers. lovely made it clear that it would be herculean task to regain its traditional voters in the coming Assembly elections.
The party will have to work hard to get its traditional votes such as Scheduled Castes and minority in the upcoming elections. “The party will seek vote on the achievements of 15 years rule of Sheila Dikshit Government and the party will also compare with one year rule with the Congress in Delhi,” he said.