Sheila admits her era has ended

New Delhi: Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday praised her Congress party colleague Ajay Maken but also responded to what many saw as his subtle dig at her. "I say it myself, it is the end of Sheila's era," she said.

Maken, who has been tasked with leading the Congress campaign for the February 7 Delhi polls, had said on Tuesday, "Every person has an era of glory which has to come to an end one day."

Dikshit led the party's campaign during the 2003, 2008 and 2013 polls. The last election saw her ignominious exit after the party was reduced to a distant third, after the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party.

Mr Maken, who was made Transport and Power Minister in 2001 in the Dikshit cabinet, is credited with the privatisation of the electricity distribution, as well as strengthening transport infrastructure in Delhi.

In 2004, he was appointed the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, at the age of 39. He successfully contested the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, defeating BJP's Jagmohan in the New Delhi constituency. He retained the seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, but lost to BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi last year.