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Subhash Chopra back as chief of Delhi Congress, Kirti Azad will lead campaign

The appointment marks Subhash Chopra’s second stint as chief of Delhi Congress, which was led by Sheila Dikshit until her death in July.

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New Delhi: Interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday appointed three-time MLA Subhash Chopra as chief of the party’s Delhi unit.

With this decision, the party’s fractured Delhi unit gets a leader right on the threshold of assembly elections in the union territory, which are likely to be held within the next three months. 

The appointment marks Chopra’s second stint as chief of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), which was led by former chief minister Sheila Dikshit until her death this July. He had earlier headed it between 1998 and 2003. He also served as Delhi assembly speaker between June and December 2003. 

A senior Delhi Congress leader said Chopra was appointed to the post because he was a “tried and tested hand”.

“Right now was not the time to experiment,” the leader added, even as they noted that Chopra’s appointment may cause unease among leaders considered close to Rahul Gandhi, such as Ajay Maken, a former union minister and DPCC chief. 


Also Read: 5 years on, Arvind Kejriwal magic has waned. But he is still the alternative Indians want 


 

‘Outsider’ Kirti Azad

Another appointment made Wednesday was former BJP MP and cricketer Kirti Azad as campaign committee chief for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections. Azad had joined the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. 

The first Delhi Congress leader quoted above said Azad’s appointment as campaign committee chief was meant to appease him.

“He has been consoled with this position. How good a move this is will depend on how interested he is in the job,” the leader added. 

Splintered party

The Congress, which led Delhi for three consecutive terms under Dikshit until 2013, finds itself in a shambles in its former stronghold. The party’s Delhi office has been desolate, with little activity on the ground, since Dikshit’s death. 

It was decimated in the Lok Sabha elections, not managing a single seat from Delhi, even as it made substantial gains against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to claim second place in five of the seven Lok Sabha constituencies. 

Since then, the AAP has launched an all-out campaign in Delhi while the Congress is yet to start work on the ground. 

Meanwhile, an open confrontation between Delhi general secretary in-charge P.C. Chacko and former MP Sandeep Dikshit, Sheila Dikshit’s son, seems to have deepened factionalism in the local unit. 

“At a time when the party needs to be intact, such optics are not good for it,” said the second Delhi Congress leader. 


Also Read: Sheila Dikshit was a powerful chief minister who knew the importance of having fun


 

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