Asked who he thinks would be Chief Minister if the Congress wins, Sajjan Kumar said today: ``It would be up to the legislative party to decide.'' And he added with a smile: ``But if Sheila Dikshit has been asked by the high command to contest the elections, it means something''.

It is quite obvious that faction leaders, who in private and not-so-private company lose no opportunity to belittle the high command's choice of Dikshit as the head of the state unit, are building their bridges with her. The widespread belief is that the Congress would ride to power after the November 25 elections. It obviously pays to be on the right side of the establishment under these circumstances.

In lineup for the top job, Dikshit is the obvious front-runner as president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee and the handpicked choice of Sonia Gandhi. But there are others in the wings, waiting to throw their hat into the chief ministership ring, should Dikshit lose from Gol Market even as her party reaches the magical figure to form the government. In the event of that situation coming to pass, `local leaders' like Deep Chand Bandhu and Prem Singh, with support from senior leaders like Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, could surface in the reckoning for the CM stakes. Jag Pravesh Chandra, the Congress's leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, was for some time a possible CM candidate but with his opting out of the election race, he is unlikely to stake a claim if the Congress does indeed form the government.

At a press conference, Sajjan Kumar said that Sheila Dikshit would win comfortably from Gole Market and Congress would get a majority in the elections.``The recent cut in prices of essential commodities is not going to have any impact. Each one of those who stands in the line buying vegetables knows that it is an election gimmick''.

In Outer Delhi, Sajjan claimed, ``Musclemen from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and Punjab are pouring in to indulge in poll violence'' and ``voters are being influenced by distributing free liqour before the polls''.