Factions fight again in Delhi Congress, MLAs feel 'ignored'

Factionalism resurfaced in the Delhi Congress after many former MLAs and ministers registered their protests against sitting MPs and party candidates for the parliamentary elections for “ignoring” them.

Congress MP and candidate from New Delhi constituency Ajay Maken and party candidate from North-West Delhi constituency Krishna Tirath are facing the ire of local leaders.

Those who have complained to the party high command against the sitting MPs are considered to be close to former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Sources say many former ministers are working only for East Delhi parliamentary seat from where Sheila Dikshit’s son Sandeep Dikshit is the sitting MP and the party’s candidate.

“A group of sitting and former MLAs from North-West Delhi, including some ministers, complained to the party high command against Krishna Tirath for ignoring them. Some of the party leaders from New Delhi district also complained to the party high command against Maken,” a source said.

According to sources, former ministers Ramakant Goswami and Rajkumar Chouhan, former MLAs Rajesh Lilothia, Jaswant Rana and Surender, and sitting MLA Jaikishan and others are dissatisfied with their MPs.

Tirath, however, said there is no infighting in the city unit of the party.

“People are free to complain against any person. It is the decision of the party high command to take action. No one is dissatisfied in my constituency,” she told Deccan Herald in a function at the Delhi Congress office.

In the last Assembly elections, factionalism was oneof the key reasons of the party’s crushing defeat. 

Sheila Dikshit had also admitted that the party’s state unit did not help her to campaign in the elections. Former Delhi Congress chief J P Agarwal had also accused her for ignoring the party’s state unit.
Following the orders of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Agarwal and Dikshit came together to end their differences, but lobbying has taken a new turn now. 

As the party decided to repeat the sitting MPs in the coming elections, the MLAs who had faced a humiliating defeat in last Assembly elections, sought fixing of responsibility of the MPs.