Delhi Congress leaders discuss roadmap for next year's MCD elections

Delhi Congress leaders discussed the roadmap for next year's MCD polls, but some of them expressed displeasure over the party's decision to involve AICC observers in the process

Delhi Congress leaders on Saturday discussed the roadmap for next year's MCD polls, but some of them expressed displeasure over the party's decision to involve AICC observers in the process to select block presidents of its city unit.

The leaders also discussed organisational issues during the meeting which was also attended also by All India Congress Committee in-charge Imran Masood.

The AICC observers, all MLAs from Haryana, were appointed earlier this month for each of the 14 districts to prepare for elections to the three municipal corporations next year.

"It was decided that the 14 AICC observers will now take feedback to suggest names of block presidents. This exercise will duplicate earlier appointment of block observers appointed by Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar in January and delay preparations for the MCD polls," said a senior Delhi Congress leader.

Another leader said, "The block observers appointed earlier for each of 280 wards have already submitted the list of probables for post of block presidents. The state unit has almost finalist the list of names of block presidents but now the AICC observers will go through the same exercise which means a waste of time."

However, the party's city unit president Anil Chaudhary and AICC secretary and Delhi in-charge Imran Masood said the party's national president Sonia Gandhi and senior leader Rahul Gandhi were focussed on the MCD elections, according to a Delhi Congress statement.

The appointment of senior leaders as AICC observers for the district Congress Committees was proof of party's seriousness towards winning the elections in 2022, it said.

"The people now regret electing the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party to power in the MCDs and Delhi, respectively, as due to their shadow boxing and inaction, the development of city has been pushed back by several years," the statement quoting Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary added that the Delhi Congress was ready to face the MCD elections as workers are willing to contest.

Masood also noted that it was "not a difficult task for the Congress to come back to power at the MCDs".

"...but we have to activate the party at the block and booth levels and the AICC observers will play a key role in the rejuvenation of the party at the ground level," he said.

In the previous MCD polls in 2017, the Congress was pushed to third spot behind the BJP and AAP in number of seats won. While the BJP grabbed a total of 181 of the 272 wards, AAP managed to wrest 49 and Congress 31 wards, respectively.