Delhi Congress leader complains to Rahul about Ajay Maken, calls him a curse

New Delhi: Delhi Congress leader Rajesh Chopra has written a letter to Rahul Gandhi, raising serious concerns over party treasurer Ajay Maken's leadership role in the organisation.

"It has become evident now that wherever he had been given some responsibility, the party fared miserably. Maken has brought bad luck for the party and his leadership decisions have cost us dearly," Chopra said.

He further added, "Congress race ke ghode ko shaadi mai, aur shaadi ke ghode ko race mai laga deti hai" (which loosely translates to Congress is using a wedding horse in the race and the racehorse in the wedding), inferring that Maken has been a failure in all his roles.

"I request that we apply this profound observation and let seasoned party workers with genuine ground knowledge and a connection with the grassroots take the lead," Chopra said in the letter, a copy of which is in the possession of NewsDrum.

Chopra also listed Maken's repeated failures.

In the 2024 Haryana assembly elections, Maken headed the screening committee and the Congress went on to lose a state where all pollsters had predicted a defeat for the ruling BJP. In the end, the BJP retained Haryana for a third term.

According to Chopra, as the treasurer of the Congress, it was during Maken's tenure that party funds were frozen barely a few weeks ahead of the critical Lok Sabha elections, causing significant setbacks to the party.

As a party candidate from New Delhi parliamentary constituency, Maken lost in 2014 and 2019.
Chopra wrote that it was during his term as the Delhi Congress president that the party failed to open its account in the 2015 assembly elections.

He further claimed that Maken mishandled the differences between Charanjit Singh Channi and Navjot Singh Siddhu, contributing to a decline in the party's influence in Punjab.

Chopra said he failed to prevent horse-trading in Goa leading to instability within the Congress.
"Under his leadership, the Congress lost multiple municipal elections in Delhi, further weakening the party's position in the national capital."

Chopra alleged that Maken failed to curb defections from the party in Madhya Pradesh.

"Maken has been entrusted with multiple responsibilities over the years, but his track record shows a consistent pattern of failures. It is time to let new dynamic leadership emerge and take charge and drive the party forward with a fresh vision," Chopra further stated.