The Hindu : PCC chief joins hands with Sheila

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 15, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

PCC chief joins hands with Sheila

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI, JAN. 14 . In a dramatic development signalling the changing equations, infighting has surfaced within the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit's rival camp in the Delhi Congress. Having been marginalised, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president, Chaudhary Prem Singh, is understood to have joined hands with Ms. Dikshit to take on the other group, including the former Member of Parliament from Outer Delhi, Sajjan Kumar, Rohtas Nagar MLA, Ram Babu Sharma, and other detractors.

According to authoritative sources, this development is likely to change the equations within the party and strengthen further the position of the Chief Minister, who at present is running the entire show. It is felt that with both the DPCC chief and Ms. Dikshit joining hands, the party will be in a stronger position to face the Lok Sabha polls unitedly.

The new combination is being termed as fatal by some partymen as it could end up in fielding fresh faces in the polls for the seven Delhi Lok Sabha seats.

What is most interesting is the decision by Mr. Prem Singh to remove Mr. Kumar as the man in charge of the party's MCD affairs. Only a few months back all the bigwigs of the Delhi Congress had joined hands against the Chief Minister and tried to raise a dispute over the leadership issue. It is another matter that the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, decided to go with Ms. Dikshit in distribution of tickets and also have her as Chief Minister for a second time.

However, the fact that Mr. Prem Singh failed to make it to the top post and then was sidelined in the constitution of the Council of Ministers forced him to plan out his strategy afresh. The supporters of the DPCC chief point out that all senior leaders had exploited Mr. Prem Singh and left him in the lurch when he needed their support most.

The presence of Mr. Prem Singh at the Chief Minister's lunch for mediapersons today was indicative of the mood as Ms. Dikshit played the perfect host serving the former Speaker the best delicacies. The signal was loud and clear that equations within the party had changed and both Ms. Dikshit and Mr. Prem Singh are likely to go ahead with a single point agenda. This is a situation not best suited for the dissident camp.

What has ticked off Mr. Prem Singh is the role played by Mr. Ram Babu Sharma, in the affairs of the MCD and his insistence to call the shots. Mr. Sharma is seen close to Mr. Kumar and the DPCC chief believed that with Mr. Sharma at the helm, things were not ideal for him. The continued defiance by Mr. Sharma in installation of some office bearers in the Corporation also aggravated matters forcing Mr. Prem Singh to re-think his strategy.

Political observers are of the view that this new development could witness a change in equations and aggravate the power struggle within the party. "It is too early to guess who all are in the line for party tickets. However, some prominent names are doing the rounds in party circles. The issue is yet to be debated at the party forum. The Chief Minister has been asked to submit the list of prospective candidates by the party high command. Only after alliances are firmed up at the national level something concrete would emerge," a senior leader remarked.

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