Congress to contest Delhi assembly polls alone, no alliance with AAP: Devender Yadav

New Delhi: Congress will contest the Delhi assembly polls alone, DPCC president Devender Yadav said, adding the party suffered loss in the Lok Sabha elections due to alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

In an interview with PTI on Tuesday, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief said the party also plans to take out a 'Delhi Jodo Yatra' on the lines of 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' to reach out to people in the city.

"The alliance (with AAP) was done in the larger interest of the nation but now that we evaluated, we feel it somewhere caused loss to us," Yadav said.

"After the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has decided that it will fight the assembly polls alone. We are working on various programmes, whether it is strengthening the organisation or outreach programmes. 'Delhi Jodo Yatra' will be a part of these initiatives," he said.

The Delhi Congress is preparing for this yatra on the lines of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' and 'Nyaya Yatra' and it will start soon, Yadav said.

Even today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' or 'Nyay Yatra' have not stopped, he added.

The Delhi Congress chief said that Rahul Gandhi will be invited to be a part of this yatra here. "All senior leaders will be definitely invited in that," Yadav said.

Asked about former state unit chief Arvinder Singh Lovely and other leaders, who left the Congress just before the Lok Sabha elections, Yadav said, "When he (Lovely) joined the BJP, there was a perception due to which there was a loss in Lok Sabha polls. But today when we look at our organisation, at our cadre, we feel there would hardly be any impact of those who leave the party in the coming elections."

Yadav underlined that the Congress brought significant development in the city during its 15 years in power under the leadership of Sheila Dikshit.

"Everyone saw Delhi changing that time. Be it infrastructure, social security or individual, every person got their right," he said.

"I feel that during Sheila Dikshit's government, we (Congress) worked to provide a government which worked for the overall development of Delhi and established its identity as a world-class city," he said.

Yadav said that during that period, the Congress, which was also in power at the Centre, worked to provide an inclusive government.

Laws, such as RTI, RTE, MGNREGA, and the introduction of the unique ID, empowered people and gave them opportunities to move forward, he said, adding that he feels that during the time when the Congress was in power in Delhi, it did not do any publicity of their achievements.

Yadav said after the Lok Sabha elections, he feels that public support for the party has grown.

"We will benefit from the Lok Sabha performance. In a short time, we have developed a vibrant organisation. We want to move ahead with a vision and somewhere I feel that the public support is growing for us and our cadre has also got boosted with this," he said, adding that the Delhi Congress is now ready with a new vision.

The Delhi Congress chief emphasised the party believes in inclusive development and has always worked for the betterment of the backward and Dalits.

"I feel our Dalit and minority votes have been consolidated in the recent Lok Sabha polls. Along with this, people from different sections have worked together to support Congress," Yadav said.

He added that some regional parties try to win the trust of these communities by "showing them small dreams" but this is just a temporary success.

Yadav also elaborated on the party's plan to develop its manifesto ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls. "Around 16 to 17 sub-committees will be formed that will reach out to different subgroups -- traders and people in the healthcare education sectors, etc. These committees will engage with them to discuss different issues and understand their needs, which will then be included in the manifesto," he said.

Yadav said accountability meetings will start from Wednesday to assign responsibility to party members for different programmes of the unit.

Delhi has 70 assembly seats. The Congress, which governed the national capital from 1998 to 2013, lost its electoral base, especially with the emergence of the AAP, which has been in power here for the last 10 years.