Delhi Cong announces names of district and block-level observers

Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit announced names of district and block-level observers on Friday to strengthen party organisation in view of the Assembly elections due early next year.

Senior leaders including former ministers have been appointed as district observers to supervise appointments to the post of presidents of 280 block committees of the party in the national capital.

The district and block observers will shortlist probables for the post of presidents of block committees, a Delhi Congress statement said.

The district observers include several former ministers such as Kiran Walia, A K Walia, Mangat Ram Singhal, and Narendra Nath.

The block committees were recently dissolved by Dikshit on the basis of a report by a committee constituted by her to look into reasons for the party's debacle in Lok Sabha polls.

"The observers will interact with former MPs, MLAs, municipal councillors, senior leaders and grassroot-level workers in each block before suggesting within 10 days the probables for presidents of block committees," the statement read.

The Congress lost in all the seven Lok Sabha constituencies to the bJP by a huge margin. The party, however, managed to push the AAP to third place in five seats.

The district observers discussed organisational issues in a meeting at party's Delhi unit office on Friday.

"It was decided in the meeting that block committee presidents should be acceptable to Congress' probable candidates for the Assembly elections," a senior party leader said, adding it was also suggested that the names of party candidates should be announced three to four months before the polls.

The district observers also recommended that those the presidents of block committees which have been dissolve should be reappointed provided they have been loyal, hard-working and have put up a good performance in the Lok Sabha elections.