‘Sonia, not CM, won us Delhi’

A day after Congress registered a decisive win across the country daggers are already drawn in the Capital. A section of Delhi Congress leaders are openly questioning Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s role in ensuring a 7/7 score in Delhi, reports HT Correspondent.

A day after Congress registered a decisive win across the country daggers are already drawn in the Capital. A section of Delhi Congress leaders are openly questioning Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s role in ensuring a 7/7 score in Delhi.

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In a rare combative mood, state Congress chief Jai Prakash Aggarwal, who has won from the Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha seat by 2.22 lakh votes, said on Sunday that this credit was misplaced.

“You can’t get this done only by getting naali-mori (sewers and drains) constructed in Delhi,” said Aggarwal.

“This was a national election. On a national level, there was a feeling among voters that they should elect a stable government. We have won seats in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal,” he said.

“Was Sheila Dikshit there?”

Those in the know, however, said this appears to be a clear effort by Aggarwal to break away from Dikshit with whom he continued to share a sweet and sour relationship.

This is the first time that the Delhi Congress chief has spoken out against Dikshit with such candour.

The internal rift between Dikshit and Aggarwal would surface from time to time, but both the leaders had so far managed to maintain a cordial appearance.

Dikshit had told mediapersons that she could take credit for her work in Delhi when asked about her role in the Lok Sabha polls.

Aggarwal said the performance in Delhi was a part of the national wave and “Sonia Gandhi's sacrifice”.

“It’s not because of flyovers in Delhi.”

A party source requesting anonymity said, “Aggarwal appears upset about not getting any credit for the party's performance.”

“It seems he has the nod from the national leadership to go ahead and express his opinion.”