Aggarwal new DPCC President

Amitabh Shukla

New Delhi, September 7

Rajya Sabha MP Jai Prakash Aggarwal would be the next President of the faction ridden Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC). The senior leader replaces Ram Babu Sharma who was the president for over two and a half years.

Aggarwal’s elevation to the post has come as a shot in arm for Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, at least for now. She was lobbying for Aggarwal and wanted Sharma to be removed from the post. Both Sharma and Dikshit spat in public and were continuously at loggerheads. The image of the party had taken a severe dent due to the infighting and then the recent Ashok Malhota episode.

Sharma, a bete noire of Dikshit in the state Congress politics, became the DPCC president on November 5, 2004. His tenure saw the party office shift to a swanky and new building. He, however, led the party to a defeat in the MCD elections earlier this year. The blame game between the organisation and the government had begun soon after.

“With this change , the party high command has given a clear message that Aggarwal would lead the party in the Assembly elections due late next year,” said a senior Congress leader. Speculation is now rife in Delhi on a Cabinet reshuffle in the next couple of weeks after the Assembly session of Delhi. “The party wants to give some new faces in the Cabinet in the run up to the elections,” said a top party source. Other party leaders say that in Congress, the PCC president and the Chief Minister are always from the opposite camps. “In this scenario, the signs are not good for Dikshit, particularly after three ministers in her Cabinet have rebelled against her,” said a Congress Vice President.

Veteran of many a political battle in the Capital, Aggarwal’s prominence in politics came after he became theDeputy Mayor of Delhi in 1983. A former student of Hansraj College, he became the Chairman of theStanding Committee of MCD in 1984. The 62-year old Aggarwal was first elected to the Lok Sabha from theChandni Chowk parliamentary constituency in 1989. He subsequently won the election two more times. His loyalty to the party was rewarded even after he lost the polls and was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Delhi in March 2006.

BOX:

The Delhi Congress on Friday issued show cause notice to four MLAs – Kiran Walia, Brahm Pal, Veer Singh Dhingan and Mukesh Sharma for their alleged anti party activities. While the first three had alleged that they were offered cars at the time of the Ashok Malhotra episode, Sharma was leading a campaign against the power distribution companies in Delhi. While the first three MLAs are considered close to Dikshit, Sharma is opposed to her in the state Congress politics. A DPCC official release said their replies have been found to be unsatisfactory. “They have been asked to submit unconditional apology within seven days from today, failing which they shall automatically stand suspended from the party with immediate effect,” the statement said. (2007)