Both AAP and BJP are our rivals

EIGHTY BUT SPRIGHTLY, veteran Congress leader Sheila Dikshit is busy meeting party workers at her Nizamuddin East residence in South Delhi. Her famed efficiency is evident in the quick manner in which she takes feedback from the workers and gives them crisp and precise instructions.

Dikshit, who was away from the political centrestage for five years, has come full circle. A Punjabi by birth and daughter-in-law of Uma Shankar Dikshit, one of the Congress’s tallest leaders in Uttar Pradesh, she was derided by detractors as an outsider when the party first brought her to Delhi in the late 1990s. She did have a strong Delhi connection, though, having spent a major part of her growing-up years in the city. She fought her critics with grit and tact, sidelining her rivals in the party and building up her political capital by appealing to all sections of society—from resettlement colonies to elite localities.

Dikshit served as Delhi chief minister for three full terms, from 1998 to 2013. Her reign, however, came to an ignominious end when she was vanquished by Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, who branded her government as corrupt. It brought about a generational change in the Congress in Delhi, with her protege-turned-rival Ajay Maken succeeding her at the helm.

But, with Maken having stepped down because of health reasons, Dikshit is now back in charge as the president of the state unit. A desperate Congress hopes that pitting her record against Kejriwal’s performance as chief minister will help it make a comeback in Delhi.

Dikshit, however, knows that the challenge faced by the Congress in Delhi is daunting. She has to win back her party’s support base, which had voted for the AAP in 2013.

Excerpts from an interview:

How does it feel to be back as in-charge of the Congress in Delhi?

There is an overwhelming feeling. This is a critical responsibility because we are going to face elections in the next three months. I hope I will be able to live up to expectations.

What is the condition of the party as has been handed over to you?

The Congress is a very ancient party. In all these hundred-plus years, it has had its ups and downs. But, when it is down, it always faces it with clarity and determination. And we all come together. That is precisely what I am trying to do now. We have to face the elections. So forgetting all our personal differences, we must face it first.

What needs to be done to revive the party?

[I have to] get the party together, and make everyone realise that we face a situation where we are going to fight two other parties, the AAP and the BJP. Hopefully, it will be done as quickly as possible.

The Congress has failed to make a mark electorally in the past few years.

In a democracy, one should not get too confident because we have won some elections, or too depressed because we have lost some elections. It is part of the democratic process.

Who is your main rival in Delhi—the AAP or the BJP?

Both are our rivals. We have to challenge both of them.

What will be your main message to the voters?

The crucial message to the voters is the history of governance that we have, which neither of the other two parties has. The BJP was in government in Delhi for only one term. We have lived three terms. So we must have done something right. Even today, the impression is that all the work being done by the Aam Aadmi Party government; it really is the work which we had started.

How would you rate Arvind Kejriwal as chief minister?

He has not fulfilled the two most important promises he had made. He said he would give free electricity and free water. Has he? No.

The AAP is showcasing the work done in the fields of education and health.

All these clinics and all these hospitals and all these schools were made by us. Maybe they have whitewashed them, nothing beyond that. Our results in the schools were much better. They do not even say what the results are.

The AAP has made full statehood for Delhi a major election plank.

Have they not read the Constitution? You can say that certain things should be under us, that we find it difficult to work [without them being so]. It is a matter of coordination [with the Union government] in Delhi. And please remember: Delhi is the capital of the country.

What made the Congress decide against an alliance with the AAP?

What has the AAP done for the Congress? Has it held its hand out? It is always criticising the Congress. And it is a party whose philosophy is not our philosophy at all. We governed Delhi in a different way, and we also make promises which are feasible. And we are a 100-plus-year-old party, and they are just a couple of years old.

Was the AAP legislators’ demand for the withdrawal of Bharat Ratna awarded to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi the tipping point?

It was very wrong. It hurt us all very badly because they have no right to say that. It was given over 20 years ago, and it was not given by the local government. It was given by the government of India.

The Congress and the AAP have the same support base in Delhi. Would the BJP not benefit from you two not coming together?

What makes you think that the voter base that they took away, or are supposed to have taken away, is still with them? I speak to you with some amount of confidence, and some amount of logic.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi seems to be reposing a lot of faith in senior leaders.

For him, as he has said, experience and youth go together. He has not taken the youth away, neither has he rejected those with experience. I think he has done a very sensible thing.

Did you have second thoughts about taking up the assignment?

Not at all. I can adjust myself to the changed circumstances. If you are unable to adjust, you are the loser.

Will you be contesting the Lok Sabha elections?

No. I am clear about that.