Congress presents its fight club to take on BJP

NEW DELHI: Congress leader and Delhi in-charge PC Chacko on Thursday said his party will have a direct

fight

with BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. He asserted that the possibility of a triangular contest is “slowly disappearing” in the national capital.

Talking to reporters after introducing party candidates fielded on the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi, Chacko said Congress was getting a good response from people and they were confident of winning.

The seven candidates led by state unit chief Sheila Dikshit, who is contesting from North East Delhi constituency, shared the dais before the media at the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) office on Thursday afternoon.

The other candidates include three former DPCC presidents Jai Prakash Agarwal, Ajay Maken and Arvinder Singh Lovely contesting from Chandni Chowk, New Delhi and East Delhi constituencies, respectively; incumbent Delhi Congress working president Rajesh Lilothia from North West Delhi, Poorvanchali leader Mahabal Mishra from West and ace boxer Vijender Singh from South Delhi.

To intensify its campaign, Congress has decided to hold rallies and roadshows of senior Congress leaders, including AICC president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh. State Congress campaign committee chief Subhash Chopra said the party was trying to get the “maximum possible time” of the top leadership in Delhi.

Delhi Congress on Thursday also launched a “digital rath”, an e-rickshaw mounted with LED TVs that will play messages of senior party leaders and the promises they have made in the manifesto launched earlier this month. Chopra said one rath has been launched in each parliamentary constituency and more will be rolled out soon.

“These e-rickshaws can easily go even in narrow streets and bylanes. We are seeking the Election Commission’s permission for more such vehicles to propagate the message of our party leaders among the electorate. Apart from the manifesto, these vehicles will also highlight the issues affecting the electorate, which neither the BJP government at the Centre nor the AAP dispensation in Delhi could solve,” Chopra said.

With just 16 days left for voting, the party has intensified its campaign. While AAP announced its candidates months in advance and got the advantage to meet the voters in every nook and cranny of the city, the late announcement of its contestants may affect the Congress’ campaign.

Chopra, however, said that the popularity of the Congress candidates will make up for any loss of crucial time ahead of the elections. “All our candidates are popular faces who have been working in their areas for years. Though this is going to be Vijender’s first election, even he is a popular face. We have an advantage in this manner,” he added.

“We have formed campaign committees on each Lok Sabha seat, which will coordinate with the state-level committee and canvass for the candidates,” Chopra said.