New Delhi, May 2:
The Congress has won elections in Delhi more times than it has faced defeat, says former chief minister Sheila Dikshit though she does not want to speculate on the number of seats the party will win in the national capital. She says she will be satisfied only if the party romps home in all seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi but a “clearer picture” on which party is leading in the city will emerge in the next 8-10 days. Eight-one-year-old Dikshit, who is involved in a keen contest in the North East Delhi seat against Delhi BJP chief and sitting MP Manoj Tiwari and AAP candidate Dilip Pandey, has been busy campaigning for the polls. “I never rest during daytime. I am contesting parliamentary elections after a long time but I am used to election campaigning. The most important thing is to reach out to the people,” she tells PTI in an interview. Dikshit, who opposed an alliance with the AAP, says, “The Congress is an old party. It has always fought on its own in Delhi and won (elections) more often than it lost. But that is the game of politics. So, I felt we should not ally with a party (AAP) which is confined to one area (Delhi). She justifies her stand saying, “We are contesting in all seven seats. If an alliance had happened, we would have got 2-4 seats only.”
Dikshit successfully led the Congress in the 1998, 2003 and 2008 Assembly polls, but the party suffered a rout in the 2013 elections under her. The Congress could not even open its account in the 2014 Lok Sabha and the 2015 Assembly elections. Asked about her rival Tiwari, she says, “I do not even know him. She goes on to add, “There are candidates in the fray. There is one candidate from the BJP and one from the AAP. They are rivals, we are contesting against each other. Incidently, a few days ago, Tiwari welcomed Dikshit as a candidate saying her entry has made the contest one of the most interesting election battles in the country. Dikshit, who took over reins of Delhi Congress in January, says it was party’s decision to field her in the Lok Sabha elections.
