The rift between Bahl and other leaders said to be close to Union Minister of State for Finance Pawan Bansal, was evident recently when the Congress leaders had demanded probe into the mega projects launched in the city. The leaders had also called for UT Administrator General S F Rodrigues (Retd) to proceed on leave till the probe is complete. Bahl had, meanwhile, denied having knowledge of any such demands being put forth. He had stated that the views expressed by the leaders were personal and not of the party.

This was not the only incident of its kind.

Bahl said today: “Bansal is the right choice for the city. The party as well as the residents of the city would support his candidature. He would win by a margin of more than one lakh votes. We would like to see him as a Cabinet minister in the next government so that he can ensure development of the city.”

The demand to announce Bansal’s name as the candidate of the party for the forthcoming elections had earlier been raised during the visit of the former home minister Shivraj Patil to the city. With the Congress winning all the three posts today, the party leaders are predicting a similar victory in the Lok Sabha elections.