I am not a PM aspirant says Sheila Dixit

Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit tells Daipayan Halder and Amit Kumar that the Congress is sure to win all seven LS seats in New Delhi

Thursday, 6 PM. Delhi has voted and Sheila Dikshit is relaxed. 'I am confident the Congress will win most seats, if not all,' the chief minister tells MiD DAY's Daipayan Halder and Amit Kumar. She adds it is the Congress' secular credentials coupled with good governance that will bring the UPA back to power at the Centre. As for herself, Sheila says she is happy being a party worker.

Firmly in the Saddle: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit

The last time Delhi voted, during the Assembly polls, it was Sheila Dikshit versus Vijay Kumar Malhotra. People said you had a clear advantage and you won. This time, it's between Manmohan Singh and
L K Advani. Is this a tougher fight?
In my case, there was the anti-incumbency factor. I was fighting for a third term as Delhi chief minister. In this election, I think the people of Delhi are admirers of the policies of the Congress Party and the Manmohan Singh government. People have seen development in the past five years. Moreover, Delhi is not a city where people vote on caste lines. Nor are people of the city communal. It is not like Mumbai, say, where an outfit like the Shiv Sena can divide people on communal lines. The original population of Delhi would be a miniscule minority now. There are Punjabis, Biharis, UP-ites and people from all other regions. Delhi doesn't reject anyone. And the city will vote for a government that is inclusive.

The perception that the Congress is not sincere on security didn't affect its chances during the Assembly polls in Delhi, though they took place right after the Mumbai terror attacks. Will it be a problem now?



No. I think it's not the right assessment. There are two perceptions among educated people. One is that you have to treat terrorism as a national issue. It's an attempt to disrupt the unity of India, to weaken India, to divide India. Since the matter concerns the nation, political parties should take a common view rather than blaming each other. Living in a glasshouse one must not throw stones at others. The BJP started blaming us after the terror attack forgetting that the people of Delhi have witnessed the attack on Parliament and Red Fort during the NDA tenure. Their own government let off terrorists during the Kandahar episode. We have always maintained that terrorists are a threat to society and they should be dealt with firmly. The UPA government exposed the talibanisation of Pakistan that is the root of many problems.

Apart from national security and development, the BJP is also talking about Ram temple and Hindutva. Will that help them?
LK Advani has said he will build the Ram temple if the BJP comes to power and it is in their manifesto also. They demolished a masjid which was a heritage to this country. They have also not kept their promise of building a temple there. When they were in power, they sidelined the issue. Now they are again talking about building a temple. It won't help.

You have spoken about post-poll alliances with the JD (U) and other NDA allies. Are you thinking of a bigger role for yourself, a transition from state to national politics maybe.
No way. I have been given a job by my party. Let me do that job. I am not a PM aspirant.

LK Advani has said there are many BJP chief ministers like Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chauhan who can make successful prime ministers. You are one of the most successful Congress chief ministers. So why not think of a bigger role?
What happens in our party is our business. We don't need any advice. Thank you very much.

But don't you feel the Congress needs to be more democratic in letting new leaders come up?
Of course, the Congress is democratic.u00a0 Look at Rahul Gandhi. He is coming up with a new agenda and he is not like your typical politician. He has a vision. There are other leaders also. We are only the party that is grooming new leaders. Our party believes in reinventing all the time.
u00a0
In hindsight, was it a mistake fielding Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler?
They were given tickets as they have done very well in previous elections. But after that unfortunate shoe-throwing incident, we requested them to withdraw as it could have become a big issue. There is an Akali-BJP government in Punjab and they were doing all they can to politicise the issue.

But the '84 riots are still an election issue.
It is not an issue anymore. The Opposition parties make it an issue. Everybody in our party has apologised for that. I don't think Narendra Modi has ever apologised for the Gujarat riots, has he? But Rahul Gandhi apologised, Soniaji apologised and Manmohan Singh apologised for what happened in 1984.

Coming back to Delhi, how many seats will you win?
I think, we will win all seven seats, give or take one. Our weakest seat is West Delhi and there also I don't think we have done too badly.