By quitting as the president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, senior leader Arvinder Singh Lovely has plunged the grand old party into a major crisis in the midst of the election season. Lovely has made it clear that he was not joining any political outfit to end speculation regarding his move to the BJP. However, his resignation has put the High Command on high alert and it is currently engaged in defusing the emerging situation arising amongst other factors, the attitude of Delhi general secretary incharge, Deepak Babaria, and unhappiness over ticket distribution. Lovely was under tremendous pressure from the cadres, who have objected to the tickets being given to Kanhaiya Kumar in North East Delhi and Udit Raj in North West Delhi.
Both are seen as recent entries in the party and their being chosen over and above some of the current leaders, has not gone down too well. It is another matter that Kanhaiya Kumar is viewed as the `X’ factor in these elections and is expected to assist in the resurrection of the Congress in the national capital. The truth of the matter is that none of the present lot of leaders have been able to revive the party in any manner and in the last 10 years, the Congress has failed to secure even a single seat in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament and has performed dismally in the municipal elections. This has been the reason for the High Command to look at new faces, and has resulted in the controversial decision to field Kanhaiya and Udit Raj. Shortly after the names of the nominees were declared, there were protests outside the party office.
The general secretary incharge is understood to have acted in an arbitrary manner and instead of pacifying agitated workers, he is said to have behaved harshly and inappropriately. One senior leader, a former minister, who went to him to lodge his protest against denial of ticket to him was asked to leave. He then made it a prestige issue and asked the DPCC disciplinary committee to act against him. The leader, abruptly resigned from the Congress while stating that he was not joining any other party. Lovely has been a performing minister but under the present regime was not able to get access to the central leadership despite repeated attempts. He was also a possible nominee for the North East seat but while announcing the final selection, he was not even consulted.
At least, this is the impression he has given. His well-wishers are of the opinion that he should have held on to his post till the elections were over and if he indeed had to quit under compelling reasons, he should have not made angry accusations against some central leaders. This step could increasingly make things difficult for him if he stays in the Congress, and he may not have a place in the BJP, since he joined the Saffron Brigade and then did Ghar Wapsi in no time. His rationale that the Delhi unit was against an alliance with the AAP, a party that came into existence by hurling corruption allegations against the Congress, are true.
However, the High Command was keen on an alliance and thus reached an agreement with AAP in Delhi while the two parties are pitted against each other in Punjab. From the Central leadership’s perspective, majority of Delhi congress leaders were deadwood and had reached their political expiry date. The objection to bring in Kanhaiya Kumar on the plea that he was an outsider does not have any basis since in the past, the Congress had brought in Sheila Dikshit, also an outsider to head the party in Delhi. This despite the fact that she had lost the 1998 Lok Sabha election from East Delhi but because of the backing she received from Makhan Lal Fotedar and Arjun Singh, she was foisted on the workers to spite HKL Bhagat. Incidentally, this time there is not even a single poster of the Congress or AAP in the city which has the face of Sheila Dikshit, the longest serving CM.
It is evident that the workers and the leadership realise that despite being in office for 15 years, her contribution in strengthening the organization was not there. Yes, it is true that there is general unhappiness on two newcomers in the party being given tickets but there are also reports that many aspirants were in touch with the BJP during this period and wanted to be considered on the lotus symbol. Reports emanating from the Congress suggest that the leadership may give additional charge of Delhi party to some senior functionary and also replace the controversial general secretary against whom many complaints have also been received from Haryana, which is also under his watch.
The resignation has given avoidable negative publicity to the party and this is a matter of great concern for the high command. While a question mark will be there on Lovely’s future, the immediate need is to overcome this crisis and move on. The defusing could also entail changing one of the nominees unless this would be viewed by the High command as an assault on its ego. The political development has certainly pleased the saffron brigade which is also worried about its prospects on some seats.