Outreach was lacking, says Sheila Dikshit

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said she had a clear impression that the BJP is winning the municipal elections. She has been at loggerhead with her party colleague and Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken, who offered to step down following the Wednesday’s results. In an interview with Pratik Kumar, Ms Dikshit, who served three terms as chief minister, insisted that Congress’ campaign to fight the April 23 civic polls lacked firepower.

Q: How do you view the election results and Mr Maken’s resignation?
I’m disappointed with the results, but I have nothing to say about Mr Maken. Our outreach was not what it should have been.

Q: Did the last-minute defection to BJP hurt Congress’ prospect?
You see a former Delhi Congress president (Arvinder Singh Lovely), who served as a minister for a long time, leaving the party. Barkha (Shukla Singh) and Youth Congress president Amit Malik also left. Naturally, it was a setback, but it was not something which should have got us 30-35 seats.  

Q: How do you think Congress can revive itself?
The Congress can revive itself, provided there is a will. All leaders will have to work together. I believe Mr Maken has said my son Sandeep and I have sabotaged the polls election. One: they are giving us too much importance. Two: I never stepped out of the house. In fact, I was never asked for a meeting, so how do I sabotage!

Q: How do you view the Aam Aadmi Party’s performance in the municipal elections?
All I have to say about AAP is: where they have won, EVMs (electronic voting machines) are all right, but where they have lost EVMs are faulty. Mr Kejriwal has won 40 odd seats, EVMs are all right there. We certainly had the impression that the BJP will win, but how well was difficult to say.

Q: Does Congress have a problem with the EVMs?
There is a lot of talk about the EVMs. The government and the election commission must review the whole thing and ensure that the people’s doubts are removed.

Q: Should we see you as the next Delhi Congress chief?
No, I’m not taking charge as the Delhi Congress chief. It’s for the high command to decide.