Appointment put on hold as Sonia wants Maken but Rahul suggests Lilothia or Devendra Yadav

The appointment of Delhi Congress chief has been delayed due to the lack of consensus on a common candidate between interim president Sonia Gandhi and her son and predecessor Rahul Gandhi.

The appointment of a new Delhi Congress chief has been necessitated due to the demise of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who had

taken the charge from Ajay Maken before the Lok Sabha polls.

AICC sources said Rahul had suggested the names of former party MLAs Rajesh Lilothia and Devendra Yadav. But the issue has taken a queer turn with AICC general secretary incharge of Delhi PC Chacko recommending Maken’s name to Sonia Gandhi.

Maken had resigned as DPCC chief citing poor health last year, but sources said he has again expressed his desire to head the party in the national Capital before the Assembly elections next year.

“Since Sheila is no more, Maken is positioning himself again to head the party in Delhi. Maken and Sheila never saw eye to eye,” sources said.

Sources said Sonia is favourly disposed to considering Maken’s name as the next DPCC chief. She has discussed the issue with former DPCC chiefs and party heavyweights in Delhi politics — JP Aggarwal, Subash Chopra, Arvinder Singh Lovely and Yoganand Shastri.

Aggarwal has already declined the offer to head the party in Delhi while Chopra, Yoganand and Lovely are yet to convey their views on the leadership to the party high command.

Lovely may not be the choice as he returned to the party fold just before the Lok Sabha polls.

“Sonia and Chacko discussed the present organisational and political situation of the State with senior leaders. She will decide the new president within couple of days,” sources said.

After securing the second spot in the Lok Sabha elections in all the seven constituencies, the party sees an opportunity to make a comeback in the State. At present, the Congress does not have a single MLA in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. The Congress ruled Delhi from 1998 to 2013, but failed to secure any seat in the last two elections.