New Delhi, June 14 – Both the Congress and the BJP are considering appointing new party in-charges in Delhi, which goes to the polls later this year. While the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government will try to hold on to power, the BJP is making efforts to dislodge it.
With Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi having taken the charge of BJP’s election campaign committee, there is a “good possibility” that a person close to him will be given the responsibility to spearhead the party’s challenge in the electoral battle, party sources said. Currently, M. Venkaiah Naidu is the party in charge of Delhi.
One name doing the rounds is that of Ravi Shankar Prasad. “He has a strong hold over state-level leaders, and it is believed that he will be able to reunite party workers,” said a senior party leader.
Sources said that at the Delhi level, the party needs a leader who can stem the growing factionalism. There are many groups at the state level and there are leaders who don’t listen to the state party president, Vijay Goel.
The other names that may be considered by the BJP are of Kalraj Mishra and Shahnawaz Hussain. While Mishra is known to be from the RSS camp, sources said Hussain can help the party garner support of Poorvanchali workers as well as voters.
The Congress, too, may see changes at the organisational level in a bid to ensure that its winning streak in Delhi is not broken, according to sources.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has already made it clear that any indiscipline among the party leaders will not be tolerated. He has been holding regular meetings at the state level and at Wednesday’s meeting he directed the local leadership to constitute the manifesto committee without any delay.
A senior party leader said the appointment of a new state in-charge is also being considered, with the names of Mukul Wasnik and Janardan Dwivedi in the reckoning. “There are chances that the present in charge Chaudhary Birender Singh may be replaced by someone who has greater hold at the state level. The party wants to continue the winning streak in Delhi even as everybody knows about the differences between the government and the organisation at the state level,” said the leader.
– INDIA TODAY
