Will take everybody along, connect with common man: Lovely

Tasked to rejuvenate Congress after its worst ever drubbing in assembly polls, new DPCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely vowed to bring all factions together.

New Delhi: Tasked to rejuvenate Congress after its worst ever drubbing in assembly polls, the new DPCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely on Thursday vowed to bring all factions together and strengthen the party at the grass-root level by connecting with the `aam admi`, particularly youths and women.

Immediately after he was appointed Delhi Congress chief, 46-year-old Lovely said he was "happy" to take the responsibility and would make every effort to work together with the sole aim of making the party "stronger" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls expected to be held by May. Expressing his gratitude to Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi, the four-time MLA from Gandhi Nagar said his priority would be to connect with the common man by educating them with "pioneering initiatives" of the UPA government in various spheres. "I will take everybody on board and try to strengthen the party at the grass-root level by taking along the `aam admi` (common people). My focus will be to rejuvenate the party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls," Lovely told. Credited for transforming the public transport system as Transport Minister, Lovely said he would try to bring more and more youths into the party fold while focusing on functioning of the block Congress. "I am grateful to Soniaji and Rahulji for giving the responsibility to a first generation party worker. I will try my best to live up to their expectations," he said while heaping lavish praise on both Sheila Dikshit and J P Agarwal who quit the post of DPCC chief following Congress` drubbing in the polls. "Both of them have contributed to the party and I will learn from them as well," Lovely, considered close to Congress leader Ajay Maken, said. Lovely`s appointment is seen as Congress` leadership`s preference for a younger face who is able to connect with the young voters. It is learnt that Dikshit supported the move to make Lovely the DPCC chief. Talking to reporters, Agarwal said Lovely has been a dedicated worker of the party and hoped that under his leadership the party would do well in the Lok Sabha polls. Agarwal had resigned from the post of DPCC chief last week taking moral responsibility of the party`s humiliating defeat in the election. The Congress had managed to win only eight seats in the 70-member Assembly. "I wish him all the luck and hope that he will be able to strengthen the party," said Agarwal. Asked about his resignation and his successor, he said, "Change is a rule of nature. I had a very long tenure and one who gets a post has to leave it at some point of time. He (Lovely) is a very fine gentleman and is approachable. He will get my full cooperation. I had also got support from all sections of the party." Almost all the senior leaders including Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit were defeated in the polls.