Delhi Congress chief likely to be named on Friday: Chacko

The new Delhi Congress president is likely to be named on October 11 with several names including those of former MPs, working presidents and some new faces coming up during deliberations which ended on Thursday.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) incharge of Delhi Congress P C Chacko, who met party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, said the next head of Delhi unit could be announced on Friday.

"Several names, including those of former Delhi Congress presidents, former MPs, working presidents, and some new faces are being discussed. But no decision has been reached yet. The name of the new president of Delhi Congress could be announced tomorrow," Chacko told PTI.

Sources said the name of former BJP MP Kirti Azad, who joined the Congress in February this year, was also discussed during the meeting of senior leaders.

Azad, who was in Patna, told PTI over phone that he was unaware of any development like this.

"I do not have such information," he said.

Besides Azad, the names of senior Delhi Congress leaders, including former Delhi Congress presidents J P Agarwal and Ajay Maken, were also under serious consideration, sources said.

The post of the Delhi Congress president fell vacant after former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit passed away in July this year.

Senior party leaders said the delay in announcement of a new Delhi Congress president is "hurting the party's prospects for the assembly polls scheduled early next year".

"We have already lost crucial four months since the Lok Sabha polls in May, and each passing day is going to cost us dearly in the assembly polls. We just hope that the name of the new president is announced at the earliest now," said a senior Delhi Congress leader.

The Congress had improved its performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by enhancing its vote share and pushing the AAP on the third spot in five of the seven parliamentary seats in Delhi.

The opposition BJP and the AAP are already engaged in preparations for the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

In the 2015 assembly polls, the AAP had routed the BJP by winning 67 of the 70 seats. While the BJP managed to win three seats and the Congress drew a blank.