New Delhi: Speculations are rife the Congress is planning to make three-time Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit the party's chief ministerial nominee for next year's Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.
“There's nothing to report,” Dikshit told media after meeting party president Sonia Gandhi at 10, Janpath.
The speculations stem from reports of the party looking for a prominent Brahmin face as its chief ministerial face in the upcoming polls. According to a PTI report, election strategist Prashant Kishor had recommended that Dikshit should play a major role in the party's poll campaign in the state as she is a prominent Brahmin face and could help Congress regain support of the electorally sizeable and significant community, whose support determines the poll outcome in several seats.
The community, a traditional vote bank of the Congress, shifted allegiance to BJP in the aftermath of the emergence of Mandir-Mandal politics. A large chunk of Brahmin votes had also gone to Mayawati's BSP in the past when she gave tickets to many candidates belonging to the community.
The Congress is trying to regain the lost ground in UP where currently it has just 30 MLAs in the 403-member assembly. Congress could win only two seats of Amethi and Rae Bareli in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls represented by Rahul and Sonia Gandhi respectively.
The Brahmin community plays a significant role in election outcome in central and eastern UP as it is the dominant caste in these areas.
Dikshit, 78, had ruled Delhi from 1999 to 2014 before being thrown out of power by the AAP. She is the daughter-in-law of prominent Congress leader from UP Uma Shankar Dikshit, who served as central minister and Governor for a long time.
Sources close to Dikshit, however, said that she is yet to make up her mind.
Congress in-charge of UP polls Ghulam Nabi Azad too said that nobody's name has been decided yet.
"In due course of time I am sure we will come up with a candidate and a name. It will happen but there is still some time," he said.
