Dissent within the Delhi Congress spilled out into the open on Wednesday with two separate groups of leaders and workers coming out against the way candidates were selected for the upcoming municipal polls, which will be held on April 23.
Accusing the Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken of ignoring the opinions of experienced members of the party, a group of senior leaders, headed by former Delhi Minister and MLA Mangat Ram Singhal, said that they have asked the party high command to remove Mr. Maken and Delhi in-charge P. C. Chacko. They have also asked for the setting up of a committee to look into allegations of “malpractice”.
Mr. Singhal said they will be seeking an appointment with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Speaking at a press conference held at the official residence of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Parvez Hashmi, who was not present himself, Mr. Singhal said that Mr. Maken had adopted a “dictatorial” approach when it came to selecting candidates.
“It’s not just me, a large number of senior leaders of the party are unhappy with the environment created by Mr. Maken. We have heard that tickets have been sold and given to people who are not even in the party,” said Mr. Singhal.
The senior leader said this his son was not given a party ticket even though he was the front runner from the Dhirpur ward in north Delhi. He alleged that family members of other Congress members were picked as candidates.
Wasn’t consulted: Dikshit
Along with Mr. Singhal were former Congress candidate for the 2015 Assembly election Sukhbir Sharma, former councillor Jitendra Kochar and former Delhi Mahila Congress chief Onika Mehrotra.
They said that other senior members of party, including former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and ex-Union Minister Kapil Sibal had not been included in the selection process.
Speaking to The Hindu , Ms. Dikshit confirmed that she had not been consulted, but declined to comment on the controversy brewing in the party.
Purvanchal group
Meanwhile, the Delhi Pradesh Parvatiya Congress, which represents people from the hill States, particularly Uttarakhand, also came out against Mr. Maken.
Brij Mohan Upreti, chairperson of the Parvatiya Congress, said that about 30 lakh people from the hill States live in Delhi, but the party had not given adequate representation to them.
“We gave a list of 28 potential candidates for areas that have a high proportion of parvatiya population, but the party picked just one and ignored the others in favour of those less suited for the role,” said Mr. Upreti.
Wednesday’s developments come on the heels of former Delhi Minister A. K. Walia threatening to quit the Congress over the lack of transparency in the selection of candidates.
Party reacts
The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee declined to comment on the allegations, though senior leaders close to Mr. Maken said that those speaking out were unsuccessful in getting tickets for themselves or their relatives.
When contacted, Mr. Maken said he would not like to comment on the issue.
