The Hindu : Youth leaders seek larger share in seats

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 20, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Youth leaders seek larger share in seats

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI, FEB.19 . With the Election Commission all set to announce the dates for the Lok Sabha polls, the youth brigade in the Delhi Congress has upped the ante for seeking a "fair share'' in allocation of party tickets for the seven Lok Sabha seats from the Capital. This group, which includes some elected representatives, is demanding an end to dominance by the old guard and pressing for projection of a vibrant new leadership.

As the rat race for the seven Lok Sabha seats intensifies, the lobbying within the Delhi Congress and in AICC circles has attained a new momentum. In fact, the young leaders point out that their demand is in tune with the vision of the party high command that the Congress party needs to project and promote a second line of leadership and a new face to create an impression among the masses, especially the young generation. In fact, the argument extended by these young leaders is that the old guard had ruled for the past two-and-a-half decades and the people were looking for something different and new. Political observers feel that now is the opportunity for the Congress to bring about this change by going in for new faces in view of the changing political culture in the Capital and across the country.

Leading the bid for the party ticket is the young Babarpur MLA, Vinay Sharma, who is staking claim for the Lok Sabha nomination from the East Delhi constituency. Having sprung a surprise by winning the Babarpur seat, Mr. Sharma, a Brahmin, claims that his caste and community combination along with a clean image would certainly work in his favour and help win the seat. It does not bother Mr. Sharma that another colleague and Rohtas Nagar MLA, Ram Babu Sharma, was claiming the party ticket. "If Mr. Ram Babu Sharma can lay his claim for the party ticket from East Delhi, then nobody can prevent me from doing so,'' he asserts. The situation is no different in the Karol Bagh Parliamentary constituency. Presently held by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress president, Rajesh Lilothia, is seen as a strong contender for this reserved seat. Although, he has not gone to the town about his claim, Mr. Lilothia is understood to have found favour with certain AICC leaders.

In case of the Outer Delhi constituency, the name of the three-time Hastsal MLA, Mukesh Sharma, is being mentioned. It is being argued that the Outer Delhi seat no longer is a Jat dominated seat and it has a considerable presence of Brahmins, a community to which Mr. Sharma belongs. Another name doing round is that of the Labour Welfare Board Chairman, Sukhbir Sharma, who is also a Brahmin.

However, both are still quite on the claims as they face direct challenge from the former Member of Parliament, Sajjan Kumar, who is making a last attempt to get in shape his political career. In fact, the name of the Poorvanchal leader, Mahabal Mishra, is also being mentioned in view of the large presence of Poorvanchal vote bank in this constituency. In the Chandni Chowk seat, the party is toying with the idea of fielding a women and the name of Paharganj MLA, Anjali Rai, is being hotly debated in the changed political equations. However, the party has not got any serious youth claimants from the other three Parliamentary constituencies of Sadar, New Delhi and South Delhi.

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