NEW DELHI: Atleast two Delhi Congress leaders have changed their stance on a potential alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Delhi.A state Congress functionary, privy to the development, said that in a meeting with Congress president Rahul Gandhi held on Monday to explore possibilities of an electoral pact in the national capital, two former chiefs of the state unit — Arvinder Singh Lovely and Subhash Chopra — spoke in favour of a coalition with AAP.
“Four former presidents of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) — Tajdar Babar, Ajay Maken, Subhash Chopra, and Arvinder Singh Lovely have supported the idea. Lovely and Chopra, earlier, were opposing. They changed their stand on Monday for reasons best known to them,” said the Congress functionary.
As the participants could not reach a consensus, they unanimously resolved that Gandhi would take a final call on the matter in the “larger interest of the party”.The state leadership, including DPCC chief Sheila Dikshit, three working presidents-Haroon Yusuf, Rakesh Lilothia, and Devender Yadav and six former Delhi chiefs met Gandhi to discuss alliance.
This the second time in this month, Gandhi deliberated upon the coalition. It was the first meeting after a survey of 54,000 grass root level workers carried out by the in-charge of Delhi Congress, PC Chacko. The survey reportedly favoured an electoral pact with the ruling party in Delhi. Babar could not attend the previous meeting due to ill-health.In Monday’s meeting, Dikshit and several others stuck to their stand against the tie-up.
“Maken and Chacko were for the coalition since the beginning. Today, Babar, Lovely, and me pitched for the pact. To defeat communal forces, it has become important for us to join hands with AAP,” Chopra said.
“We (Dikshit and three working presidents) have conveyed our sentiments to the party president. We are against the proposal. Now, it is up to him. However, the Congress in Delhi is capable of taking on any contest. We can win on our own,” said Yadav, one of the three working presidents against the tie-up.
However, Dikshit said Monday’s meet was about elections preparations.