The election of Rahul Gandhi as the president of the Congress on Monday elicited a range of responses from Delhi’s politicians.
Delhi Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee said that the workers of the party in the Capital welcomed the move.
“The party workers had been waiting for this. The way Rahul has fought the Gujarat Assembly elections campaign has made Prime Minister Narendra Modi nervous. Similarly, Rahul will have an impact on the politics across the country,” she said.
The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee was the first State unit of the Indian National Congress to pass a resolution asking for Mr. Gandhi to become president in October, taking over from his mother Sonia Gandhi.
Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP, which is in Opposition in Delhi and in power in all three municipal corporations in the city, came out against Mr. Gandhi being elected president.
“Not only does Mr. Gandhi’s anointment indicate that the Congress as a party will never be able to remove the dynastic shackles which it has carried on with for generations, but it is also worrying in the larger scheme of politics in the country. It will just further erode the possibility of a credible and worthy Opposition in India which is required to keep any political leadership on its toes,” Mr. Tiwari told The Hindu .
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the Congress was known to be a dynastic party and there were no surprises at Mr. Gandhi’s election as the party president.
“He could’ve been elected as the president five years ago and it would have still been the same. However, it is always nice to have an opposition in a democratic set up,” said Saurabh Bharadwaj, chief spokesperson of the AAP’s Delhi unit.
Mr. Bharadwaj added that the AAP would like to congratulate Mr. Gandhi for his new position in the Congress and “wish him success in his work”.
