NEW DELHI: Newly-appointed Congress Campaign Committee chief Ajay Maken is all set to contest the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections from the Sadar seat.And the party will announce its candidates for 45 Assembly constituencies on Wednesday.
A two-time Parliamentarian from the New Delhi seat, Maken has not only served in different capacities in former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s Cabinet, but was also a member of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s team.
Maken said it was the first time in the history of the Congress that a former MP was contesting the Assembly elections in Delhi. He said that he was confident that the people of Delhi would vote for the most “trusted and tested party” in the coming elections. “Delhiites have seen our performance at the Centre as well as at the state level. Prime Minister Narender Modi has the administrative experience of only the Gujarat state,” he said.
Asked about the AAP, Maken said, “The newbie party could be trusted, but it was not tested”. He said his party would soon come out with a booklet titled “49 din ki sarkar, Dilli huvi behall, U-turn Kejriwal (49-day government, Delhi become hopeless, U turn Kejriwal.)”
On Dikshit’s decision not to contestthe polls, he said she was a very senior leader of the party. “There is a rise and fall in the life of every person. I am 50. After 10 years, I may also decide not to be part of active politics.”
The Congress has already announced its list of 24 candidates for the 70-member assembly. Congress in-charge of Delhi affairs, P C Chacko said the list of the remaining candidates would be officially announced on Wednesday. The first list included the names of nine outgoing MLAs, including state Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Sources said former Delhi minister Kiran Walia, who had earlier contested from Malviya Nagar, might contest against AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi seat. The party is likely to field former Speaker and ex-minister Yoganand Shastri from Malviya Nagar.
Former Speaker and Dalit leader Chaudhary Prem Singh, who had decided not to contest, is all set to be the Congress candidate in the Ambedkar Nagar seat.
Delhi HC Questions Competence of Ec
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) after they failed to point out why errors, like same photos appearing for different persons, were being found in the voters’ list. “We are not saying you are doing it (errors) deliberately. We are only questioning your competence,” Justice Vibhu Bakhru said.