Delhi Congress chief to be named soon, Kirti Azad in race with Sandeep Dikshit

The Congress party may announce its Delhi unit chief on Friday. The post of Delhi Congress president has been vacant since the death of Sheila Dikshit on July 20 this year. The absence of Delhi Congress chief has impacted the Congress's preparation for the assembly election that is due for early next year.

Three names are doing rounds in the Congress circle to head the Delhi unit of the party. These are, Kirti Azad -- the former BJP leader, Sandeep Dikshit - the son of Sheila Dikshit, and JP Aggarwa - the veteran Congress leader of Delhi.

One of these Congress leaders are likely to step in the shoes o f Sheila Dikshit, who was topmost leader of the Delhi unit of the party. She was a three-time Delhi chief minister before the Aam Aadmi Party defeated the Congress. Arvind Kejriwal became Delhi chief minister beating Sheila Dikshit in 2013, when the AAP formed a minority government lasting just 49 days.

Kirti Azad is said to be leading the race for his Purvanchali connection. He was elected as Lok Sabha MP on the BJP's ticket three times from Darbhanga in Bihar. His father, Bhagwat Jha Azad was, however, a Congress chief minister in Bihar.

Kirti Azad's candidature gains weight from the BJP's choice for its Delhi unit chief in Manoj Tiwari, the singer-turned-politician from Bihar. Manoj Tiwari is two-time MP from the North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. He defeated Sheila Dikshit in 2019 parliamentary polls.

Interestingly, Kirti Azad too has a Sheila Dikshit connection to his political career. He was elected as an MLA from Gole Market assembly constituency in Delhi in 1993. In 1998, he was defeated by Sheila Dikshit, who was brought by the Congress from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.

In 2003, Sheila Dikshit defeated Kriti Azad's wife Poonam Azad from Gole Market constituency. After delimitation in 2008, it became New Delhi assembly constituency, which Sheila Dikshit represented until defeated by Arvind Kejriwal.

The Congress leaders have been in deliberation for electing the Delhi unit chief. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had met a delegation of Delhi Congress leaders and Delhi Congress incharge PC Chacko but decision on the final name of the Delhi unit chief could not be made.

The Delhi unit of the Congress is faction-ridden with different groups competing with one another resulting in delay in the announcement of state president. In fact, factionalism is said to have improved the chance of Kriti Azad being named as Delhi Congress chief by the party high command.

Kirti Azad joined the Congress in February this year ahead of the Lok Sabha election, which he contested from Dhanbad losing to BJP candidate Pashupati Nath Singh by nearly 5 lakh votes. He had won 2014 election from Darbhanga as BJP candidate but he was suspended from the party after he went public with allegations of corruption against former Union minister Arun Jaitley in 2015.

Sandeep Dikshit has the backing of supporters of Sheila Dikshit in the Delhi Congress. He is also a two-time Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi. Besides Kirti Azad and Sandeep Dikshit, JP Aggarwal is also in the race for the Delhi Congress chief's post. Aggarwal is considered close to Sonia Gandhi. He is also in the good books of the old guard of the Congress.

There is another possibility. One line of thinking in the Congress is that a younger leader should be given the reins of Delhi unit considering rebuilding that the party requires in Delhi. Names of three working presidents Haroon Yusuf, Devendra Yadav and Rajesh Lilothia are also being discussed in the Congress corridors. A decision is likely on Friday.