NEW DELHI: The Delhi Congress unit appealed to Congress president Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation and gave him the example of how the party had made a strong comeback after the defeat in 1977. Former chief minister and Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit said that there was no need for Rahul and the party workers to get disheartened by the setbacks in the Lok Sabha elections. Dikshit gave the example of how the party bounced back under the leadership of Indira Gandhi to wrest power two-and-a-half years after the Congress defeat in 1977.
Rahul has been adamant on not continuing as the Congress president after he took the onus on him for the Congress’ poor show in the 2019 general elections. Though the Congress bagged 52 seats, marginally up from 44 in 2014, the results came as a disappointment for Rahul and his Congress workers.
Dikshit thanked Delhiites for reposing their faith in the Congress party as the Congress did better in this Parliamentary election than the last time. “The Congress candidates finished second in five of the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi, and the Congress also came first in five Assembly segments and second in 42 Assembly constituencies,” she said.
The three-time chief minister lamented that there was no development work in the past five years under the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi and the BJP Government at the Centre. “The condition of Delhi has deteriorated so pathetically that a clean and green Delhi left behind by the Congress Government has now become a huge garbage dump under the AAP Government,” she asserted. Dikshit said the Congress workers will reach out to people to win their trust, and the party will bounce back within the upcoming Assembly elections.