Fight in Delhi is between two national parties, says Sheila Dikshit
New Delhi: After a defeat by debutant AAP in 2013, most presumed it was the end of the archetypal superwomen Sheila Dikshit era. The Dikshit era was started after defeat in Lok Sabha Poll in 1998, after which she took charge of Delhi Pradesh Congress as president.
Fortunately, in November 1998, Sheila Dikshit returned to power for three terms, and now she is the head of Delhi unit of Congress and a Lok Sabha contestant from North-East Delhi.
The longest serving Chief Minister in the Capital, the governor of Kerala between March 2014 and August 2014, the President of Delhi Congress, 81-year-old Sheila Dikshit, who is now back to electoral politics as the Candidate from North-east, when Delhi Congress has no MP or MlAs in Assembly, is ready to take on the new challenge that the Party high Command has given her.
It is pertinent to mention that in 1998, the last time Dikshit fought Lok Sabha election from North-East, which was part of East Delhi before delimitation of the parliamentary Constituencies. She was defeated by BJP's Lal Bihari Tiwari.
Presently, Sheila Dikshit is facing two more Pandits, sitting MP Manoj Tiwari and AAP candidate Dilip Panday, both are Purvanchalis, while Dikshit is by birth Delhiite. In such situation, triangular fights are here. North-East Lok Sabha seat is Muslim and Purvanchali dominated that could pose a challenge for all three pundits.
Sheila says that election fight is between two national party candidates and both candidates are Delhi unit president of their respective parties.
In the last Lok Sabha poll 2014, in Modi wave, of the total of 13,13,514 votes cast in North East Delhi, BJP's Manoj Tiwari got 596,125 (45.38 per cent), AAP's Anand Kumar got 452,041 (34 per cent) and Congress' Jai Prakash Agarwal got 214,792 (16.35 per cent) votes. Collectively, the vote share of the Congress and the AAP was the highest - about 70,000 - more than the that of BJP.
Sheila Dikshit is banking on the achievements rather than any catchy slogans such as nationalism and corruption. "I was right here , yes, may be not as a candidate but I was always in touch with the party leaders, our workers and more importantly, the people. It feels nice to watch how much love the people of Delhi still have for the Congress Party," said Dikshit.
"The North-east Parliamentary constituency has been totally neglected by the people's representatives from the area despite getting crores of rupees as MP and MLA funds for the areas development," said Dikshit.
Dikshit claimed our government brought the Metro services to North-east Delhi and we began the plan for the Signature Bridge, hospitals in this area. 81-year-old lady, is much active, before disclosing that her day starts at 7:30 am with a cup of coffee and returns at home after 10:30 pm.
