As the dates for the Delhi Assembly elections are to be announced soon, the State unit of the Congress is keenly waiting for an opportunity to strike back.
After making numerous efforts to project unity in the party, the Congress is hopeful of regaining some of its lost space from the AAP. However, party leaders agree that coming back to power is going to be a much harder job.
The party is reposing its faith on a new bunch of leaders, including DPCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and Congress legislature party leader Haroon Yusuf.
A senior Congress leader said the DPCC president will lead the party’s campaign in Delhi. “In the absence of a chief minister, the campaign will naturally be led by the PCC president. Lovely is popular and energetic. He will lead the campaign,” the senior leader told
With the exit of Sheila Dikshit from active politics in Delhi, the leader said, there has been a change in the direction of the party.
“A new generation of leadership has emerged. They are committed to the party. They never stopped working since the last Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Things are changing for the better in the party. However, the experience of senior leaders like Sheila Dikshit and JP Agarwal will be used during the campaign,” he added.
A news report that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has formed a team consisting of controversial leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar to make poll preparations, meanwhile, created some controversy within the party.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) vehemently denied the “rumours”. Blaming media for publishing reports without verifying facts, party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said no such panel has been formed. He asked media to keep off rumours.
Rejuvenating the partyA section in the Congress believes that the report was generated by a top leader from the AICC office. “The high command should keep an eye on the so-called leaders who want to rejuvenate the party,” warned another senior leader.
The Congress hopes that it has chances in Western and Eastern Delhi constituencies. The party believes that the BJP cannot build a campaign based on the Prime Minister every time.
It also feels that the AAP is facing severe internal conflicts and that this will worsen at the time of seat distribution.