 "Muslims are coming back to Congress: Sheila Dikshit")
Sheila Dikshit, Congress nominee for UP chief minister, tells Amit Agnihotri why she was the one to be chosen.
Edited excerpts:
You are the Congress’ chief ministerial candidate for the 2017 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, where the party has moved to the margins over the past two decades. How do you rate the party’s chances in the coming elections?
The Congress is in a much better position than it was around six months ago. People are looking up to the party. We have conducted yatras across the state. (Party vice-president) Rahul Gandhi’s Kisan Yatra was received very well. We are presenting the Congress as a party which caters to all sections of society and works to bring people together. We are also making development our central plank with the slogan “27 saal, UP behaal” to target rival parties.
Will your development plank sell among voters?
UP, the largest state, has remained backward in most parts. There have been communal riots and the whole political discourse seems to be negative. The state needs heavy doses of development and people see the Congress as a party capable of delivering on that promise. Other parties have neglected development over the past decades.
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Do you think the Congress stands to gain in terms of winning back the crucial Muslim voters, given the feuds within the ruling Yadav family?
Everyone will gain from the infighting, including the Congress. They (Samajwadi Party) are certainly losing. I think Muslims are coming back to the Congress and it is a good sign.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, so far, has been the most silent player in UP. Is she an underdog ahead of the next polls?
Mayawati has the support of a particular caste group. That is her limitation. Though she has been lauded for better law and order situation as compared to SP, she, too, was infamous for corruption. Both these UP-based parties have pushed down development. We want to explain it to the voters that, if voted to power, we will change the ground situation.
You are the Brahmin face in these polls. Can the Congress woo the crucial community?
It won’t be right for me to comment on the Brahmin factor. UP is a highly caste-ridden society though.
Any plans to hold Brahmin conclaves?
No specific conclave, though there would be some reach out.
Another prominent woman Brahmin face in the Congress, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, joined the BJP recently. Any comments?
Her late father and former UP chief minister, H N Bahuguna, and her brother and former Uttarakhand chief minister, Vijay Bahuguna, too, switched sides in the past. No wonder she followed them. I don’t think there would be much to worry for the Congress. We still have a battery of senior leaders who can travel across the state and convey the message to the people effectively.
The BJP, which had swept the 2014 general polls in UP with 71 of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats, is making a strong pitch ahead of the UP polls. How does the Congress plan to counter the party?
The BJP is out to polarise the UP polls. They always do so. The party had played a similar game ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when they polarised voters in UP over the Muzaffarnagar communal riots. The SP government, too, did not take prompt action against those behind the riots. I think in the present situation, only the Congress can fight BJP and defeat its divisive agenda. The non-performance of the central government will also expose them before the voters. We will highlight the hollow promises of the Modi government made during the 2014 general polls.
While you target the rivals — SP, BSP and BJP — strong rumour is doing the rounds in Delhi that the Congress may be part of an anti-BJP alliance on the lines of the Bihar Assembly polls held last year.
I am not aware of any alliance talks. There is nothing as yet. At the moment, the Congress is going forward on its own strengths. Any alliance would depend on how the political situation evolves. But I see little possibility.
But Congress strategist Prashant Kishor met SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav recently, triggering speculation over an alliance? Later Mulayam snubbed him saying there would be no alliance.
That is for Prashant Kishor to answer.
You had said it was surprising?
Yes, it was.
Rahul is tipped to take over the Congress soon. When is that likely?
We all want him to take over as early as possible but it is for party president Sonia Gandhi and him to decide on the timing. He is certainly making all efforts to revive the party in the state.
Will Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s campaigning boost Congress’ prospects?
She is highly popular among the people. But it is her call.
The Congress had been suffering in UP from a weak organisation and that had been a concern among the high command as well. Do you think the situation has improved?
The situation has improved significantly. The gaps in local units have been plugged and more people have been roped in at the booth level. Plus, Rahul’s Kisan Yatra has enthused a lot of workers who feel involved with the campaign. The Dalit outreach programme will further help us connect with the poor. We are being seen as raising the issues of farmers, labourers and the poor cutting across castes and communities. Therein lies our party’s appeal.
You had won the 1985 Lok Sabha polls from the Kannauj seat in UP but have been out of the state since then. Is that a disadvantage?
No, I don’t think so. I had been interacting with state leaders and people, though most of my time had been devoted to Delhi as chief minister. I have done my bit for the national capital and I am confident that the people in UP will keep that in mind.
People had raised doubts about my age when I was named the chief ministerial candidate in UP. I will use my administrative experience gained in Delhi for the benefit of UP.