New Delhi: In a major jolt to Congress just six months before the elections in the national capital, party’s Delhi unit in-charge P.C. Chacko has urged interim president Sonia Gandhi and former chief Rahul Gandhi to relieve him of his duties. Mr Chacko had been appointed as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of the party’s Delhi unit in November 2014.
The Congress leader said that it was the time when new appointments for the posts of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief and AICC in-charge of the city affairs were made. He urged both the Congress leaders to allow him to go back to Kerala. Rumours are afloat in the political circles that Mr Chacko could be replaced by Congress leader Tariq Anwar.
The development comes just two days after Ms Gandhi held a meeting with Mr Chacko and the district presidents to discuss the selection of a new chief for the party’s city unit. The post has been lying vacant since the death of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit last month.
There are indications that Congress could again bring back senior leader Ajay Maken to look after the party’s state unit. Mr Maken had earlier resigned from the post of Delhi Congress chief citing health grounds.
A close confidant of Mr Maken said he was reluctant to take charge of the party’s affairs in Delhi again. “Since state elections are approaching fast and he is extremely good in his organisational skills, there are chances that the senior leadership could finally persuade him to take up this crucial job again,” the confidant said.
Mr Maken has not only held key portfolios in the city Cabinet during Dikshit’s tenure, he was also the youngest speaker of the state Assembly. He was Dikshit’s parliamentary secretary as well. The young leader has twice represented Delhi in the Lok Sabha. Apart from Mr Maken, the other names doing the rounds for the post of state unit president are that of former Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra and local leader Devender Yadav.
