Sheila gets the keys again

There were no detractors; there was no friction or factions within the state unit of the party as the Congress Legislative Party CLP, comprising all 42 elected MLAs from the party, authorised All India Congress Committee AICC president Sonia Gandhi to select the chief minister. While giving her approval on the phone to election observer Mohsina Kidwai, the Congress chief also extended her best wishes to all winning candidates before announcing Dikshit the leader, party insiders said.

The decision assumes significance since the party had always kept quiet on whether Dikshit would be the chief minister if Congress retained power. In sharp contrast, the BJP had declared Vijay Kumar Malhotra as its chief ministerial candidate even before the party had kickstarted its campaigning for the Assembly elections.

The resolution today was put forward by Chaudhary Prem Singh, who retained his Ambedkar Nagar seat and has served as the Vidhan Sabha speaker for the last 10 years. Interestingly, Prem Singh was among those who had opposed Dikshit8217;s nomination as chief minister for a second term in 2003. The decision then was delayed by almost 15 days, due largely to the intra-party friction. This time, however, the decision was taken amid great fanfare for Dikshit within two days of the party being voted back to power.

Celebrations followed later as party workers and supporters burst crackers and showered flower petals on Dikshit at the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee office. 8220;I accept this responsibility with great humility,8221; Dikshit said before leaving the party office. Members of Parliament from Delhi Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler, Ajay Maken and Kapil Sibal made fleeting appearances for the CLP meeting, excusing themselves on account of the ongoing Parliamentary session in the Lok Sabha.

Delhi Congress chief J P Agrawal later said the chief minister would be sworn in the next couple of days. 8220;We are yet to decide on the Cabinet,8221; he said. 8220;The final decision on Cabinet ministers will be taken after consulting the AICC.8221;