Both the arms of the Congress in Delhi, the government and the party, again came together on a common platform and sought to make a public show of their new found love for each other when the newly nominated All-India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Delhi Shakeel Ahmed visited the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters on Thursday.
Welcoming Mr. Ahmad, in the presence of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her Cabinet colleagues, DPCC president J.P. Agarwal spoke highly of the 15-year rule of the Congress Government in Delhi and exuded confidence that it would again come to power after the Assembly elections due later this year.
Mr. Agarwal, who was till very recently being seen as a staunch opponent of Ms. Dikshit and had even made his feelings known before the party high command several times this year, sought to play down the differences and eulogised Ms. Dikshit for standing firmly by the people always in their good and bad times.
Mr. Agarwal said the Congress would create history by winning the Assembly elections for a fourth consecutive term, and exhorted the party workers to get set to shatter the dream of the BJP to come to power.
Ms. Dikshitreturned the favour by showing an equally soft side towards the leadership of the Delhi unit of the party. She spoke of how even a low-level party worker of the Congress was the greatest asset for the party. She also declared that the party would go into the elections as one cohesive unit.
“We would fight the elections by joining hands with Jai Prakash Agarwal ji’’ she declared, to rousing applause.
Ms. Dikshit also noted that if the Congress put up a united fight, no other party would be able to defeat it. She said the Congress faces no challenge from anyone, and the workers should take the pledge that it will form the governments once again in Delhi and at the Centre.
AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said the Congress was in a very strong position in Delhi as the party workers have been holding strong in their respective areas.
Mr. Ahmed said the Congress workers were prepared to live and die for the party. He said nobody else, other than the Congress, could run the country as it was the only party which could keep the country united.
