Sandeep Dikshit vents ire against Congress for ‘malicious campaign’

Intra-party rift surfaced in the Congress when its Delhi-based leader Sandeep Dikshit said in a blog that a malicious campaign was being run against his mother and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit from within the party fold.

Sources said the party has taken a serious note of the matter since it has projected Ms. Dikshit as its chief ministerial candidate for the nerve-wracking electoral battle in Uttar Pradesh.

Pointing at Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken (without naming him), Mr. Dikshit wrote in his post that the party leadership in Delhi has made “abusing her (Ms. Dikshit) its rallying point”.

Mr. Dikshit accused Mr. Maken of preparing “a false synopsis of the CAG’s Commonwealth Games report, putting in fabricated charges” and leaking them to “the paid media” prior to the official release of the report.

A senior Congress leader currently overseeing election campaign in Uttar Pradesh told The Hindu that instead of going public, Mr. Dikshit should have discussed “whatever issues he had with Ajay Maken” with the senior leadership.

“We are working so hard to present madam (Sheila Dikshit) before the UP people and we really don’t want the public to know that she is having a problem with her colleagues in Delhi. It sends a wrong message across,” the leader said.

The Hindu made many attempts to contact, Mr. Maken but he didn’t answer his phone.