By appointing Arvinder Singh Lovely, senior leader and former Delhi minister in the Sheila Dikshit government as the new president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, the Central leadership appears to be dead serious about reviving the City unit of the party. Lovely has been the Delhi Congress Chief earlier as well, and he is considered the best bet for his party which is struggling to keep itself relevant in the national capital. Soon after his name was declared on Thursday, Lovely made it a point to visit some of the veteran leaders to seek their support and blessings. He also has pledged to approach all Congress workers, who over the years, have chosen to withdraw themselves from public life and are sitting at home. Further, in a step which should be emulated by the National party as well, he has decided to meet those who had left the party, to come back and help revive the organization. Lovely had courted controversy some years ago, when after being humiliated by his close friend and senior leader, Ajay Maken, he had joined the BJP in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The four-time MLA, was considered as the biggest catch for the Saffron Brigade “after Himanta Biswa Sharma’’ switched to the BJP in Assam. Significantly, even after he left, top Congress leaders including Priyanka Gandhi had called him up to show appreciation of his contribution to the organisation. Lovely, felt very uncomfortable and returned to the Congress fold, shortly after he had left. He has been serving the party as an ordinary worker since then. The Congress High Command, had following a string of defeats in the capital, made up its mind to replace Anil Chaudhury as the State unit boss. Many names, Devendra Yadav, Sandeep Dikshit, Abhishek Dutt, Rajesh Chopra and Jai Prakash Aggarwal besides Lovely, were considered for the position. The announcement was delayed, because the Central leadership was unable to make up its mind. When Ambika Soni, senior leader considered close to the Gandhis, put her weight behind Lovely, it was more or less clear, that he would be chosen as the party Chief. Therefore, the announcement of his name did not come as a surprise for those who have followed the party closely in the city. Yes, Ajay Maken would have been disappointed but he has been in the party long enough to realise that once the decision has been taken, every Congress person is expected to observe certain norms. At one point of time, Maken, and Lovely were inseparable but differences crept in subsequently. Lovely told the Daily Guardian on Friday, that his first and foremost priority would be to rebuild the organization and involve every party worker, big or small in this daunting task. While expressing his gratitude to the Gandhis and Malikkarjun Kharge, he affirmed that he shall never let them down. He said that every decision in the Delhi Unit would be made collectively, and all party activists, and the office bearers who would be appointed at the state, district and block levels, shall be assigned responsibilities to revive the organisation. While admitting that some mistakes must have been made in the past, he said that time had come to make amends and carry things forward. Lovely has been with the Congress since his NSUI days; he was the president of the Khalsa College Students Union. His father was closely associated with Delhi strongman, HKL Bhagat at one time, but later parted company with him. Lovely also has an excellent rapport with Sikh leaders of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Prabandak Committee including Paramjit Singh Sarna, Harvinder Singh Sarna and Manjit Singh. Although the BJP too after a long gap, appointed a Punjabi as its State president, Lovely’s nomination, has sent a strong signal amongst Sikhs and Punjabis that they would once again play a pivotal role in the City’s politics. The new president is at this early stage, reluctant to discuss any details about a possible arrangement with the Aam Aadmi Party for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election. He said that he would follow whatever decision is taken by the Congress High Command. Lovely has a very strong worker connect and represents continuity in the party over a long period of time. His family was close to Bhagat, and he himself enjoyed a very good association with Sheila Dikshit; he was the Revenue, Education and Transport Minister during her tenure. He is close to the various factions which exist in the city and is perhaps the only one, who can carry everyone with him. The declaration of his name, has brought some hope back for the demoralized Congress workers. There are many such as Hari Shankar Gupta, Shiv Bhatia, Mukesh Sharma, Neeraj Basoya, Haroon Yusuf, Amit Malik, Naresh Kumar, Chattar Singh, Devendra Yadav, Mehmood Zia, Abhishek Dutt, Ramesh Kumar, Jag Parvesh and Bipin Sharma who would play a major role in his scheme of things. He shall also receive guidance from local stalwarts like Subhash Chopra, Jai Prakash Aggarwal, Prem Swarup Nayyar and Hasan Ahmed. Expectations are very high from the dynamic leader since he has the capacity to turn things around and is considered as a good organizer. However, only time would tell whether he would make a difference to the fortunes of his party. The ball is now back in the court of Arvinder Singh Lovely.
