Cong to contest Delhi polls alone, no alliance with AAP

New Delhi: Congress will contest the Delhi assembly polls alone, DPCC president Devender Yadav said, adding the party suffered loss in the Lok Sabha elections due to alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief said the party also plans to take out a ‘Delhi Jodo Yatra’ on the lines of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to reach out to people in the city. “The alliance (with AAP) was done in the larger interest of the nation but now that we evaluated, we feel it somewhere caused loss to us,” Yadav said.

“After the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has decided that it will fight the assembly polls alone. We are working on various programmes, whether it is strengthening the organisation or outreach programmes. ‘Delhi Jodo Yatra’ will be a part of these initiatives,” he said.

The Delhi Congress is preparing for this yatra on the lines of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and ‘Nyaya Yatra’ and it will start soon, Yadav said. Even today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ or ‘Nyay Yatra’ have not stopped, he added. The Delhi Congress chief said that Rahul Gandhi will be invited to be a part of this yatra here.

“All senior leaders will be definitely invited in that,” Yadav said. Asked about former state unit chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and other leaders, who left the Congress just before the Lok Sabha elections, Yadav said, “When he (Lovely) joined the BJP, there was a perception due to which there was a loss in Lok Sabha polls. But today when we look at our organisation, at our cadre, we feel there would hardly be any impact of those who leave the party in the coming elections.” Yadav underlined that the Congress brought significant development in the city during its 15 years in power under the leadership of Sheila Dikshit. “Everyone saw Delhi changing that time. Be it infrastructure, social security or individual, every person got their right,” he said.

“I feel that during Sheila Dikshit’s government, we (Congress) worked to provide a government which worked for the overall development of Delhi and established its identity as a world-class city,” he said.