New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) Congress' chief ministerial aspirant Ajay Maken Tuesday quit as the party's general secretary after he lost from Sadar Bazar while his party suffered a rout in the Delhi assembly elections.
In a subsequent move, the Delhi in-charge P.C. Chacko also stepped down from office.
"Yes, both the leaders (Maken and Chacko) have resigned. Maken's resignation is subject to approval from the party high command (party president Sonia Gandhi).
"Chacko's resignation is a mere formality as his term was supposed to end after the Delhi polls," party official Tom Vadakkan told IANS.
Maken, who was relegated to the third position with 16,331 votes Tuesday, was up against incumbent Som Dutt Sharma of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Praveen Jain of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a constituency that was a Congress bastion for three consecutive terms until Rajesh Jain lost it to the AAP in the 2013 polls.
Sharma reclaimed Sadar Bazar, the largest wholesale market in the national capital, with 67,507 votes.
"I take responsibility for the results and have decided to resign as general secretary of the Congress," Maken said.
Gandhi appointed Chacko as the party in-charge of Delhi in November last year.
He was filling in for party general secretary Shakeel Ahmad, who had requested the party president to temporarily discharge him of his duties for three months citing personal reasons.
Maken congratulated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal.
He said: "We want to congratulate Kejriwal and hope the promises he has made and the dreams he has outlined, he will fulfil them in Delhi. For strengthening of democracy, I hope that he will fulfil his promises."
In his mainstream political career that spans over 21 years, Maken, 64, has won three elections to the Delhi assembly and two to parliament.
Beginning his political journey as president of the Delhi University Student's Union in 1985, he became the youngest member of the Delhi assembly in 1993 at the age of 29. In 2001, he was transport, power and tourism minister in the Sheila Dikshit cabinet.
In 2003, he was elected as speaker of the assembly.
He first became an MP in 2004, and was re-elected in 2009 during which he had thrice been in the union council of ministers.
Rajasthan: Gangster Raju Theth was shot dead in broad daylight, Rohit Godara of the Bishnoi gang took responsibility
Gangster Raju Theth was shot dead in Sikar, Rajasthan. Four-six miscreants shot Raju Theth near his house. Raju Theth was having enmity with the Anandpal gang and the Bishnoi gang. Rohit Godara of
On the notice of ED, Sanjay Raut said - come arrest me, it was anticipated earlier
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut termed the summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case as a "conspiracy". He said that even if he is killed, he will not take the
Special talk between Bill Gates and PM Modi, said - everyone should come together against the corona virus
new Delhi. The condition of Corona virus has worsened the condition of most of the countries around the world. The data on the ever-increasing number of infected and deaths has increased the concern
Big action in Atiq-Ashraf murder case, 5 policemen including Shahganj Inspector suspended
Shahganj police station in-charge Ashwani Singh, outpost in-charge Nivan Preet Pandey, sub-inspector Shiv Prasad Maurya, constable Jaymesh Kumar and constable Sanjay Prajapati have been suspended in
Indian Ocean Countries Conference in Odisha
Bhubaneswar, Feb 23 (IANS) To deepen economic ties with the Indian Ocean Rim countries and emphasize on maritime security, India will hold a three-day international conference in Odisha, starting
Suspense on Sonia-Lalu discussion: Tejashwi said - there was talk between the two, Congress MLA denies; RJD will surround the government on the issue of unemployment
The suspense is increasing over the conversation between Congress President Sonia Gandhi and RJD supremo Lalu Yadav. On one hand, Tejashwi has confirmed the talks, while the Congress MLA has denied
UP Coronavirus update: 329 Covid infected patients died, 18125 new cases revealed
Lucknow: In the last 24 hours in Uttar Pradesh, 329 more people died due to the Covid-19 infection. During this time, the infection was confirmed in 18125 new patients in the state. Additional Chief
Twitter handle of Ministry of Jal Shakti hacked: Agencies engaged in an investigation; Second major cyber attack in 9 days
The Twitter handle of the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti was hacked on Thursday morning. Since then, security agencies and cyber experts have been involved in the investigation. According to media
Have stated my position earlier: Manmohan Singh
New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said he has made his position clear to the CBI on the allocation of coal blocks."I have respect for the judicial
NCDRC: IRDA to investigate the role of a life insurance agents, Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed the insurance regulator
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has directed IRDA to look into the role of an agent selling life insurance policies. Further, it may revise the proposal forms with the
