Sheila isolated, many favour AAP-Cong tie-up
NEW DELHI: Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit appeared to be isolated over the issue of alliance with AAP for Lok Sabha polls, as AICC in-charge PC Chacko on Friday claimed that "many" in the party were in favour of such tie-up. "An alliance is the only way to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," Chacko said.
He, however, said that a final call on the issue of alliance with Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi will be taken by the Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Dikshit refused to respond on the current development.
The differences in the party over the issue of alliance surfaced on Thursday after Dikshit registered her protest over a phone survey covering over 52,000 Delhi Congress workers carried out by Chacko.
The workers were asked if they favoured alliance in Delhi with ruling AAP to defeat the BJP in Lok Sabha polls.
"There are many leaders and workers in Delhi Congress who are in favour of alliance with AAP. But, a final call in this regard will be taken by party president Rahul Gandhi. We will submit our report on survey result to him," said Chacko.
"I think tie-up is a political necessity in Delhi. Congress has an approximate vote share of 20-22 per cent and the AAP has 35 -40 per cent. BJP's vote share is around 45 per cent and they may get a slight edge after Pulwama. It's simple logic that coming together of the AAP and the Congress will be detrimental for the BJP," said Chacko.
The All India Congress Committee(AICC) incharge of Delhi unit said that Dikshit may have her views about the alliance but "everyone will have to follow the decision of party president Rahul Gandhi on it."
Many senior Delhi Congress leaders also expressed their views in favour of alliance citing the need to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
Former Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra, who held the post during the Sheila Dikshit government, said that he will go by the decision of party high command over the alliance issue.
"The party policy is that the BJP regime must be removed at any cost," Chopra told reporters.
Some other former Delhi Congress presidents, on the condition of anonymity, said that there was no way leaders and workers in the party may defy the decision of central leadership over alliance.
Former Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken had asserted on Thursday that the phone survey was conducted on the direction of Gandhi and it was "wrong" if anyone in the party questioned it.
Dikshit had questioned the survey move by Chacko, saying it was "overriding" the decision taken against the alliance by Rahul Gandhi.
"There should be no confusion. Our stand remains what it was," she had said referring to her meeting with Rahul Gandhi earlier this month after which she claimed there was unanimity in the party against an alliance with the AAP
in Delhi.
