Cong mulling appointing Shatru as Delhi chief?

Will former Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib, Shatrughan Sinha, be appointed as president of the Delhi Congress?

The actor-turned-politician, who served as Rajya Sabha MP twice before being elected to the Lok Sabha from Patna Sahib, said he was ready to don the mantle if the party decided in his favour.

“I am a disciplined soldier of the Congress. If the party decides so and entrusts me with a new responsibility, I am always ready to discharge my duty,” said Shatrughan.

The post of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) has fallen vacant after the demise of Sheila Dixit. Assembly elections are also due in Delhi in February 2020.

Incidentally, Shatrughan, who switched over from the BJP to the Congress earlier this year, unsuccessfully contested his first parliamentary election from New Delhi in 1992. However, he lost to Congress’ Rajesh Khanna, his colleague from tinsel town, by nearly 27,000 votes in the Lok Sabha bypoll.

Sources told DH that the Congress was mulling a proposal to appoint Shatrughan, as he could be a potential challenger to the Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwary, who is also a prominent Bhojpuri actor.

Shatrughan, who lost the 2019 Lok Sabha election from his home-town Patna Sahib, to BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad, however, said that he had not been formally offered the post yet.

“Personally, I have no demand, command or expectations. But let the offer come first. If the party deems it fit, then I am ready to discharge any responsibility as per my ability, capability and sincerity,” said Shatrughan.