Ajay Maken resigns as Delhi Congress chief

New Delhi: A few months before the Lok Sabha election, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken has resigned as the party's Delhi unit chief citing health reasons.

Maken said his resignation had been accepted and he would now work for the party in preparing it for the 2019 general election, due by May.

"I had tendered my resignation in September itself. I met Rahul ji Thursday to insist again (to be relieved as Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief).

"I said DPCC president should be 100 per cent fit before elections. I would now work for the party and prepare it for the Lok Sabha election," the 54-year-old leader said.

Asked if his resignation has been accepted, Maken said, "Yes, Yes. That has happened," and added he was undergoing treatment for an orthopaedic ailment.

Maken's resignation assumes significance amid speculation of a possible alliance between the Congress and the AAP in Delhi for 2019. He was strongly opposed to any tie-up with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital. See P3