Dikshit: Wait ends

New Delhi, April 25: Sheila Dikshit finally got to meet Sonia Gandhi today.

The meeting, after a five-day wait, came amid indications that the Congress chief is beginning to address problems within the party in some of the states where it rules. Earlier in the day, Sonia met Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh.

Before Dikshit met Sonia, there was speculation that the Delhi chief minister, under fire from a growing number of critics within the city Congress, could offer to quit rather than concede the demands of her rivals.

However, the high command is understood to be not in favour of a change of leadership at this stage and would prefer Dikshit to accommodate some of the demands of the dissidents, including probably a revamp of her ministry.

The Sonia-Dikshit meeting came a couple of days after the high command made known its displeasure over the chief minister?s style of functioning, particularly about the way she had walked out of a meeting of senior city Congress leaders last Tuesday. Ashok Gehlot, the AICC general secretary in charge of city affairs, attended that meeting.

The general secretary and all senior city party leaders were present during the meeting with the Congress chief. While the high command dropped enough hints that it did not approve of the walkout, Dikshit was told to follow ?proper procedure? for a meeting with Sonia, presumably an advice that she should first approach Gehlot.

Just ahead of meeting Sonia, Dikshit and her detractor, Delhi Congress chief Ram Babu Sharma, met Gehlot and conveyed their points of view on the differences within the city unit and also on the walkout. Gehlot is understood to have not taken kindly to the chief minister?s act, which her critics say was a ?show of defiance? of the leadership. Soon after he met the two leaders, Gehlot briefed Sonia.

Amarinder has been camping here for three days. That Sonia finally met him is being interpreted as a fresh lease of life to the Punjab chief minister, whose replacement had been sought by his detractors. However, with party elections on, the high command might set in motion a process of organisational revamp in the state. The issue is understood to have figured at the meeting.