Seniors will welcome if Rahul Gandhi wants a younger team: Congress leader Sheila Dikshit

Delhi: Former Delhi chief minister and Congress leader Shiela Dikshit said on Thursday that the time was right for Rahul Gandhi to take over as party president.

She also claimed that seniors Congress leaders were ready to step down in favour of Rahul and his team.

In an interview that was published in News18.com,  Dikshit said,"I think it's a decision of the party. The time is right for Rahul to take over. If the decision has been taken, it needs to be implemented and that choice also will be with Congress president Sonia Gandhi. It is Sonia Gandhi's decision now to hand the baton to somebody else and that happens to be Rahul Gandhi which is fair enough." 

Praising Rahul's strategy for joining a coalition in Bihar, she further told the TV channel, "The coalition that they brought about in Bihar was a step taken by him and it was a successful step. His strategy in Bihar worked."

At the same time, she did admit that the 45-year-old Rahul would make some mistakes.

“I don't see his mistakes visibly but circumstantially. He may have made some mistakes but he has learnt from them," she said and added, "He does want a younger team, one that is more in tune with his ideas. That does not mean that it is a break, the continuity will always be there." 

Brushing aside rumours that seniors would be sidelined in the party, Dikshit maintained, "To think that he will wash off completely all the seniors from the party, I don't think that is Rahul's intention at all. We all seniors feel that we have contributed to the party enough and if someone else wants to take charge, we are willing. That is the general attitude and I'm sure everyone will welcome it. I welcome it too."