Delhi Congress chief and the party’s Lok Sabha candidate for North East Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, on Saturday said the Congress gave leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru to the country and made Delhi a “better city” in her 15-year rule as the chief minister.
“The great work on transport, schools, hospitals, etc., here is all because of the Congress and I am sure people know that,” she said at a party workers’ meeting in Burari, which eventually converted into an impromptu public gathering as locals converged on learning about Dikshit’s presence.
Addressing the crowd of around 300 persons comprising party workers and locals at a hall, Dikshit stopped intermittently on at least three occasions during her seven-minute speech. But as party workers requested her to speak more, she continued.
“If anyone has produced a personality like Mahatma Gandhi, it is the Congress. If anyone has produced a personality like Nehru, it is the Congress... the same for Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and the generations ahead… The combination of sacrifice and work done for the people is what differentiates the Congress from others,” she said.
The last time 81-year-old Dikshit was in the election fray was in the 2013 Delhi assembly elections. She was the chief minister of Delhi for three consecutive terms till 2013 but lost her place to the Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal. The AAP’s 49-day government was formed with Congress’ support. In the next state election in 2015, Congress’ tally was reduced to nil in Delhi.
{{/usCountry}}The last time 81-year-old Dikshit was in the election fray was in the 2013 Delhi assembly elections. She was the chief minister of Delhi for three consecutive terms till 2013 but lost her place to the Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal. The AAP’s 49-day government was formed with Congress’ support. In the next state election in 2015, Congress’ tally was reduced to nil in Delhi.
{{/usCountry}}In Saturday’s meeting, the only promise Dikshit made was that the Congress’ “great work” would continue if elected to the Lok Sabha again. “But the most important thing is you all must go out and vote for whichever party you think is the best . And I know that you see Congress as the best party for the work it has done [for Delhi] in 15 years,” Dikshit said.
Earlier this month, the Congress nominated Dikshit as its candidate for North East Delhi. Dikshit is taking on AAP’s Dilip Pandey and the BJP’s Manoj Tiwari, the incumbent MP from the constituency.