Congress Speaker Devendra Yadav.
Assembly elections will be held in Delhi next February and the political chessboard has already been laid out. With Kejriwal’s political rise, the Congress disappeared from Delhi politics. The Congress party, which ruled Delhi for 15 years under Sheila Dikshit, was ousted in 2013 and has never been able to make a comeback. To breach Arvind Kejriwal’s political fortress, the Congress tried various methods from JP Agarwal to Arvind Singh Lovely and Subhash Chopra, but none of them worked.
The Congress party is going through the worst phase of Delhi politics. Congress could not even open an account in the 2015 and 2020 Delhi Assembly elections. The Congress party has made many experiments to end its political exile in Delhi but cannot rise from the political ventilator. For Delhi Congress chief Devendra Yadav, the 2024 assembly elections are nothing less than a litmus test. Congress faces challenge in opening account in Delhi?
This is why the Congress party was kicked out of Delhi politics.
Arvind Kejriwal established his political identity through the Anna movement, forming the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the 2013 assembly elections. Thereafter, he fought against New Delhi seat Sheila Dikshit in 2013 and expelled the Congress party from Delhi politics. In the following 11 years, the Congress Party elected eight state presidents in Delhi, of which three state presidents held three elections during their term in office. None of them were successful.
When Arvind Kejriwal contested the 2013 assembly elections after forming the Aam Aadmi Party, the command of the Congress was in the hands of former MP JP Aggarwal. This is the first election for Kejriwal’s party. Even after this, the number of seats in the Congress was reduced to just 7. Congress won only Muslim and Sikh-dominated seats.
JP Aggarwal resigned as state president after losing the assembly elections. The party’s command has since been handed over to Delhi-based Arvinder Singh Lovely, who had served as a minister in the Sheila government. He hails from the Sikh community and managed to become an MP in 2013 even during the Kejriwal wave. The 2015 Assembly elections were held under the chairmanship of Arvinder Lovely. Instead of benefiting from it, the Congress party was completely wiped out.
Congress was wiped out in 2015
In 2015, the Congress failed to win even a single seat in Delhi. As a result, Arvind Singh Lovely resigned as President of the country and Ajay Maken took over the command of the country. Amid the political excitement of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Makan resigned on January 5, 2019 and Sheila Dikshit succeeded him as the state president. Even in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress could not open an account.
After the death of Sheila Dikshit, the Congress handed over the reins of Delhi state president to three-time MP Subhash Chopra. Chopra is considered an important leader of the Punjabi community. The Congress could not win a single seat in the 2020 Assembly elections, which were held during Subhash Chopra’s tenure as state president. Not only that, Congress fielded many senior leaders in the elections but none of them could win. Taking responsibility for the failure, Subhash Chopra resigned as president of the country. The command of the state president was handed over to Anil Chaudhary from Gurjar community, but Devendra Yadav took over ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections his position.
Preliminary review of Devendra Yadav
For Delhi Congress chief Devendra Yadav, the 2024 assembly elections are no less than a test. The challenge for him is to regain the lost support base of the Congress and open up the Congress’ power account in Delhi. Devendra Yadav has been active ever since he assumed office as the President of the country. Devendra Yadav launched ‘Delhi Nyay Yatra’ in all parliamentary constituencies in a bid to motivate Congress workers. In this way, efforts are made to breathe new life into a Congress lying on a ventilator.
Even before the election date was announced, the Congress had announced a list of 21 candidates in which senior leaders like Sandeep Dixit and Harun Yusuf were also trying their luck in the electoral field. Apart from this, now give the candidates a winning spell by discussing their election winning strategies. Two state-level vice-presidents have also been inducted into the war room set up by the Congress for the national-level elections.
Strategies for winning elections
The state assembly held a meeting with 21 candidates. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss strategies for winning the election. At the meeting, all candidates learned about the party’s policies and issues. The state president looks out among all the candidates for names of influential leaders, influencers, religious gurus, etc. in the area through which people can be contacted at the local level and motivated to vote for Congress. In addition to this, all candidates are asked to provide the names of two persons in charge so that in the event the candidate cannot be contacted directly, the persons in charge can help convey the message. In this way, the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to win the electoral battle in Delhi.
