Sheila Dikshit Appointed Delhi Congress Chief !

New Delhi: Just months have left for the national election, the Congress today made a comeback of three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at the helm of the party’s Delhi unit. Ajay Maken, who had the job, was eased out last week — sources said he made a promised for a prominent role at the party’s frontlines.

Ahead of the main formal announcement made by the party, Ajay Maken tweeted: “Congratulations to Sheila Dikshit for making a comeback as the state Congress chief again. I got the chance to work and learn under her as parliamentary secretary and cabinet minister. I have full confidence that under her leadership, we will play the role of a formidable opposition against PM Modi’s and Arvind Kejriwal governments”.

Mr Kejriwal — who was at loggerheads with the Congress after their partnership ended with his 49-day tenure as Chief Minister in 2013 — has also been co-opted into the proposed Grand Alliance against the BJP. Its interlocuter Chandrababu Naidu and DMK chief MK Stalin have persuaded him to drop the “negative stance” against the Congress.

Last month, Mr Kejriwal made a statement saying that  “it is responsibility of every patriotic citizen of the country to defeat the (Narendra Modi-Amit Shah) team, and to do that, we will take all the best and possible measures that we can”.

For Ms Dikshit, her comment on the prospective partnership had marked a fresh stance that took the big picture into account and helped catapult her to the pole position in the race for the party’s top job in Delhi. Asked about the alliance, Ms Dikshit had said the “high command, Rahul Gandhi and all will decide and whatever they decide will be acceptable to all of us”.