‘We could’ve done better in power... time to bounce back’
INTERVIEW Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken says while the MCD polls are a battle of survival for the party, they are also its best bet to make a comeback
I started with 9% votes in 2015 (he was appointed as Delhi Congress chief in March that year). We had municipal bypolls in May 2016 in 13 wards and the Congress had won six, AAP had four and BJP three. We jumped from 9% to 13% in those bypolls. In Rajouri Garden bypoll, our vote share further increased to 33%. Huge improvement in vote share is not a small achievement. I selected candidates in those elections also. The municipal elections result on April 26 will prove whether I was wrong or right. secretary to her and I was also in her cabinet. I have learnt from Dikshit. I considered her my mentor. I held key portfolios in her cabinet when several reforms in power and transport sector were brought. I had also contributed my bit to her governments It is suprising that the president of AAP, the candidate of which lost deposit just 10 days ago in Rajouri Garden bypoll, is saying so. It is a battle of survival for us. I entirely agree. We need to win the election to survive in Delhi and this is the best time for the Congress to bounce back. I strongly feel that we have a fair chance of success. We are experienced. The experience, which the Congress has, can give global standards of governance in the three corporations. Secondly, we intend to turn around the civic bodies into self-sustaining entities. We would like the corporations to spend at least ₹2,000 crore every year in underdeveloped areas of the city. We would like them to ensure timely payment of wages and pensions. Education and health are other areas, where we are going to concentrate.
People should vote us for experience because we will not enter into ‘tu tu, main main’ (argument) with the state government or the Centre. To curb corruption, we will add a citizen charter to ensure time bound delivery of services.