NEW DELHI: Delhi Congress president is optimistic about upcoming Assembly elections as he highlights grassroots revitalisation, commitment to combating corruption.
The Delhi Congress unit is confident about winning the upcoming Assembly elections, and has ruled out any alliance with AAP. The elections are scheduled for February-March next year. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian, Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav, who took over after former president Arvinder Singh Lovely resigned from the party and joined BJP just before the Lok Sabha elections, Yadav spoke on the party’s preparations in the national capital, where they have not won a single Assembly seat in over a decade.
Q: What is your perspective on the current political development in Delhi, with Arvind Kejriwal resigning from the position and Atishi taking over the chief minister’s post?
A: This will not make much of a difference, actually. Kejriwal’s stance has been exposed. He initially aimed to create a party against corruption, and in that, he succeeded. Over the past 12 years, his party has been very vocal about eradicating corruption, especially while in power. However, various issues have surfaced, with several of his ministers, MLAs, and councillors facing corruption charges, leading to their imprisonment for several months. Kejriwal never intended to step down from his position as chief minister. Although he was forced to resign due to allegations against him, during his time in jail, it was never his plan. Now, with the court restricting him from going to his office and barring him from signing any files, his status has become more of a formality. I don’t believe the situation has changed much with Atishi taking over, and it likely won’t make a significant difference.
Q: Given that Congress has lost much of its cadre in Delhi, what efforts are being made to revitalise the party’s grassroots support?
A: I agree, the situation of our party is not the same as it was when we were in power from 1998 to 2013, a solid 15-year run. Back then, we were in full command and actively addressing people’s issues. However, times have changed, and a new era has emerged. Kejriwal has presented a dream to the people of Delhi. Our party has undoubtedly weakened, and our vote bank has shifted. But, I must say, much of our vote share was taken by Kejriwal. Now that his image has been exposed, our foundation is beginning to regain strength. In recent months, we’ve worked hard to rebuild our organisation. By focussing on internal strengthening, we initiated organisational meetings and assigned small tasks to members. Now I believe our organisation is much stronger, and we are optiVmistic about reclaiming the ground we’ve lost.
Q: What are the key agendas that Congress is prioritising for the upcoming Delhi Assembly election?
A: Of course, issues like corruption, unemployment, rising prices, and overall city development are significant concerns. However, we believe in directly engaging with the people to understand the issues that matter most to them. To address this, we’ve formed a manifesto committee with 17-18 subgroups. Through this, we plan to launch a major outreach program where we’ll go to the people, listen to their concerns, and incorporate their feedback into our manifesto. These issues will then become the core of our agenda moving forward.
Q: Will Congress go into the polls with CM face considering Arvind Kejriwal as its main opponent?
A: It is too early to talk about it.
Q: Congress has often been associated with internal conflict. Have steps been taken to address the issue?
A: I don’t believe there are any internal conflicts. Yes, Mr Lovely had some concerns, and while certain issues seemed apparent, they weren’t really there. He has since left us, and now there are no internal disputes. We are united and working hard. Our organisation is strong, and the leaders are now fully aligned, putting in collective effort towards our goals.
Q: There are reports that Rahul Gandhi is considering an alliance with AAP in Delhi. What is your view on that?
A: No, these are just rumours. Nothing concrete has happened so far. I firmly believe that we will contest all 70 seats in Delhi.
Q: In 2019, Congress saw a rise in its vote share, but in the recent election, the party slipped to third place. How does Congress plan to increase its vote share in the coming election?
A: We haven’t lost our vote share. In 2019, our vote share was spread across seven seats, but this time we only contested three. Despite that, we still managed to secure 18% of the votes, which shows an overall increase in Congress’ vote percentage. As I mentioned earlier, we didn’t stop there. We focused on strengthening our organisation, raising key issues among the public, and keeping people’s concerns at the forefront. Now that the Aam Aadmi Party has been exposed, we have a strong chance of winning. I am hopeful that we will form the government in 2025.
Q: Has DPCC identified the pool of candidates? And in how many seats the party will give tickets to the first-timers and experienced leaders?
A: Yes, we have already begun the process. We’ve asked our district presidents to submit the names of candidates they believe are best suited for their respective seats. We’ve finalised a pool of potential candidates, and as time goes on, I am assigning them tasks to see how they perform.
This process involves both, new faces and old allies who respect one another and can prove themselves in the field. I’m confident that we will have a strong mix of youth, women, and experienced individuals among our candidates.
Q: There seems to be a disconnection between the central leadership, which accuses BJP of misusing agencies, and the DPCC, which supports CBI and ED investigations. Why is there a difference in these statements?
A: No, there is no discontent within our organisation. Let me be very clear—while we firmly believe that BJP is misusing certain agencies, we also recognise that when corruption comes to light, we have limited options. We have to rely on these agencies. We still believe there are some good, honest individuals within these organisations who don’t succumb to pressure and are committed to fair investigations. That’s why, on specific occasions, we too call for CBI enquiries, ED investigations, and other such measures in cases involving corruption charges.
Q: Incidents that took place at Rajendra Nagar and now at Karol Bagh—do you think the Delhi government could have handled these issues better?
A: Definitely, this is not something that happened overnight or in just a year. I remember when Sheila Ji (former chief minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit) was in government, we were on the path to becoming a world-class city, with infrastructure designed to support that vision.
However, after 11 years of misrule and poor governance, we have reached a point where incidents like those in Bapa Nagar and Rajendra Nagar, where a mother and child tragically drowned, highlight the government’s failure. Had the people of Delhi been more focused on development, we might not be facing such incidents today.