When Congress’ arch rivals were ridiculing the party for being absent from the scene, the party claimed it was undergoing an internal purge and regrouping to produce a more battleworthy Delhi unit
It was on January 24 that the Congress first informed former Kalkaji Member of Legislative Assembly Subhash Chopra about the party Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s plan to launch into the Delhi campaign from his constituency. His team was barely given two days and two nights to make arrangements for it.
Mr. Gandhi had remained non-committal until then. It was only after the Congress announced its candidates early on and internal reports began suggesting that the party would not fare as badly as it had in 2013 that he decided to enter into campaign mode. When Mr. Gandhi’s associates were looking for an appropriate rally venue, Ajay Maken who had been Union Urban Development Minister under the UPA government, and is the Congress’s face in this election as its campaign committee chief, informed Mr. Gandhi that the party’s big idea in this election - a Right to Shelter legislation - could be best kicked off from the slums of Govindpuri in Kalkaji. Mr. Maken told Mr. Gandhi about a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) project for 8,000 in-situ dwellings for slum dwellers that Mr. Chopra had spearheaded during his days as DDA member five years ago.
On January 27, Mr. Gandhi began his road show from the construction site of that project. From there, he promised “a roof over every head” and cheaper power and water supply for the poor.
“The Congress will bounce back because we stand with the poor,” he later told the media at a hurriedly organised interaction. The next day, the party unveiled the draft legislation for the Right to Shelter Act. It now plans to introduce the legislation – which Gandhi considers a game changing idea on the lines of the right to information and employment guarantee legislations– in Congress-ruled states.
When its arch rivals were busy ridiculing it for being absent from the scene, the Congress claims it is undergoing an internal purge and simply regrouping to produce a more battleworthy Delhi unit. The 2013 polls in Delhi reduced the party from a three-time winner to a fringe player. It won eight of the 70 seats. The new Congress, say insiders, is less complacent and has learnt the importance of power and water tariffs as poll issues. It is also less condescending towards its competitors, especially, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
While the AAP and the BJP launched pitched battles against each other on social media as early as November, the Congress’s senior leadership seemed to be in hibernation. According to insiders, this was because there were pressing questions that the party was introspecting over. “Just as there was a vacuum of governance in Delhi over the last year, something similar was being confronted within the party’s state unit, too,” admitted a leader. The biggest dilemma was distancing itself from the taint of the three-time former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s Commonwealth Games scam while holding on to the developmental achievements of her tenure. As the party slowly got down to nominating members for key committees in view of the polls, delegation upon delegation made the rounds of Mr. Gandhi’s office to convince him to grant Dikshit ‘a larger role’ in the party’s activities. Mr. Maken’s appointment as chief of the campaign committee was a declaration that the Congress wanted to move on. Mr. Maken is close to Mr. Gandhi but is also an experienced hand. The Kerala model of extensive block-level committees was replicated in the capital by its former Kerala state chief P.C. Chacko who replaced Shakeel Ahmed as party in-charge for Delhi. More experienced candidates have been preferred over those seeking tickets simply on the basis of being young.
“Just five women candidates and one leader from the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) have been fielded this time,” a leader said. “Even prominent student leaders such as Amrita Dhawan and Ragini Nayak, who fought and lost last time, and had been given tickets upon the insistence of Mr. Gandhi, have been refused tickets this time.”
The Congress has been severely critical of both the AAP and the BJP in this election. While the two big players battle it out for the claim to rule Delhi, the Congress is fighting only in order to remain politically relevant.
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