NEW DELHI: Five years after her ouster as the formidable chief minister of Delhi of three terms, Congress has chosen to put Sheila Dikshit in the driver’s seat as Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president. “I am honoured at the confidence shown in me and I know the role brings with it a big challenge,” Dikshit told TOI.TOI was the first to report that Dikshit may be the new DPCC chief. The change of guard comes in the backdrop of the resignation of state president Ajay Maken on health grounds. In an interview on December 13, the veteran Congress leader had said that she would not shy away if the high command handed her the responsibility to lead the team in the capital.In a first for Delhi, All India Congress Committee has decided to appoint three working presidents. While positioning the 80-year-old veteran leader as the face of the party, Congress wants to project itself as a party that also has a second rung of leaders who are young and come from diverse backgrounds. The choice of working presidents reflects this stance.Announcing Dikshit’s appointment, the party’s Delhi in-charge, P C Chacko, said that three working presidents — Devendra Yadav, Rajesh Lilothia and Haroon Yusuf — will assist her. Yusuf, a former MLA from Ballimaran, is a prominent minority face of the party in Delhi and has been a member of Dikshit’s cabinet. He told TOI that they will chart the course of action when Dikshit takes charge and holds a meet.The decision to appoint working presidents in Delhi is in line with the national trend being adopted by Congress across states to make way for a diverse caste-class mix in the functioning of the party.The Congress revival story in Delhi is yet to be written and there is just about a year to go before the February 2020 assembly polls. Dikshit is also tasked with having to rejuvenate Congress’ fortunes in the national capital ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.Delhi elections will be crucial for Congress since its complete wipeout from the assembly in the 2015 polls. AAP had led its Delhi campaign against the Dikshit regime on the anti-corruption plank. By putting Dikshit in the forefront, Congress is testing the ground to see if the political strategy of AAP can be countered by putting 15 years of Dikshit’s rule face-to-face with AAP’s five-year tenure.Out of the limelight for long and away from any active role in Delhi Congress, the announcement of her appointment as state president brought back the crowds. “I am surrounded by people right now. I would for now like to say I feel honoured by the confidence party president Rahul Gandhi has shown in me,” Dikshit said.Maken took to Twitter saying: “Congratulations and well wishes to Sheila Dikshit on being appointed as president of Delhi Congress. I had the opportunity to work and learn under her as a parliamentary secretary and as a cabinet minister. I believe under her leadership we will play the role of a powerful opposition against Modi and Kejriwal governments.”He had taken charge as DPCC chief in March 2015 from the then president Arvinder Singh Lovely after Congress’ wipeout in the assembly polls in February. Lovely, a former minister in the Dikshit cabinet, was made DPCC president after Congress lost in the 2013 assembly elections.Once seen as arch rivals, Maken and Dikshit were seen on the same dais when the former took charge as DPCC chief in 2015. As Maken chose to create a fresh line up of youth leaders, the old guard felt sidelined. Dikshit was also consigned to the sidelines till February 2018 when a newfound bonhomie was seen between her and Maken, who visited her residence and asked her to join as DPCC chief in steering the attack on AAP.This development was also indicative of how the party was trying to highlight 15 years of Dikshit’s rule in Delhi to take on AAP. There was a growing realisation that she could not be ignored in this revival story.Chacko on Thursday refuted the possibility of an alliance with AAP and said that Congress is fully prepared to contest the parliamentary elections on its own. Asked about this issue, Diskhit said, “I have no opinion to share just now. Let me get involved and understand the situation and then only will I react to it.”

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