Cong discusses comeback strategy in crucial meet
5 Dec 2014 4:50 AM IST
Few Congress leaders who did not attend the workshop included the party’s newly inducted in-charge of Delhi affairs P C Chacko, AICC secretary Kuljeet Nagra, former Union minister and ex-MP Kapil Sibal, former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, former east Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, former Delhi Assembly speaker Prem Singh, former minister Raj Kumar Chauhan and former legislators Mateen Ahmed and Hassan Ahmed. Asked about the reasons why these senior leaders did not attend the workshop, Delhi Congress president Lovely said no AICC leader was invited to the workshop.
“This was our local workshop. After holding our internal meetings with members of the election committees, the chairpersons will be having a separate interaction with Chacko.”
A local leader said that Sibal could not make it to the workshop as he had to attend a court hearing. While Prem Singh also did not show up, his son participated in the session.
Chauhan and Hassan Ahmed were reportedly busy with local functions in their respective constituencies. Mateen Ahmed, could not participate, as he was reportedly out of station. A majority of the Dikshit loyalists, including former city ministers Ramakant Goswami, Kiran Walia and Mangat Ram Singhal, attended the workshop.
What came as a surprise to one and all was that all senior local leaders, having sharp differences, turned up for the session. These included former Union ministers Ajay Maken, Jagdish Tytler and Krishna Tirath, former MPs Sajjan Kumar, J P Aggarwal and Mahabal Mishra and former legislators Jai Kishen, Prahlad Singh Sawhney, Devender Yadav, Asif Mohd and Subhash Chopra. A majority of the party’s corporators and former district committee members were also present. Even President Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter, Sharmishtha, who has recently joined the party attended the workshop.
The four-hour long workshop saw many senior leaders giving suggestions on how to expose the BJP and the AAP in the state elections. All those present were asked to send in their suggestions for the party’s manifesto. There was a broad consensus among all the leaders that the party should make every possible effort to address the concerns of each caste and community in the city. A former MP said: “If we want to regain our foothold in the city, we have to win back the confidence of our traditional voters like Muslims, slum dwellers, residents of unauthorized colonies, villagers and poor people from different communities.”
“This was our local workshop. After holding our internal meetings with members of the election committees, the chairpersons will be having a separate interaction with Chacko.”
A local leader said that Sibal could not make it to the workshop as he had to attend a court hearing. While Prem Singh also did not show up, his son participated in the session.
Chauhan and Hassan Ahmed were reportedly busy with local functions in their respective constituencies. Mateen Ahmed, could not participate, as he was reportedly out of station. A majority of the Dikshit loyalists, including former city ministers Ramakant Goswami, Kiran Walia and Mangat Ram Singhal, attended the workshop.
What came as a surprise to one and all was that all senior local leaders, having sharp differences, turned up for the session. These included former Union ministers Ajay Maken, Jagdish Tytler and Krishna Tirath, former MPs Sajjan Kumar, J P Aggarwal and Mahabal Mishra and former legislators Jai Kishen, Prahlad Singh Sawhney, Devender Yadav, Asif Mohd and Subhash Chopra. A majority of the party’s corporators and former district committee members were also present. Even President Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter, Sharmishtha, who has recently joined the party attended the workshop.
The four-hour long workshop saw many senior leaders giving suggestions on how to expose the BJP and the AAP in the state elections. All those present were asked to send in their suggestions for the party’s manifesto. There was a broad consensus among all the leaders that the party should make every possible effort to address the concerns of each caste and community in the city. A former MP said: “If we want to regain our foothold in the city, we have to win back the confidence of our traditional voters like Muslims, slum dwellers, residents of unauthorized colonies, villagers and poor people from different communities.”
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