While thousands cheered Arvind Kejriwal as he took oath, the road outside Sheila Dikshit’s soon-to-be-vacated official residence at Moti Lal Nehru Marg was nearly deserted. The gates of the house remained locked for most of the day. Dikshit, who had dismissed Kejriwal as a “monsoon pest” before losing polls to him, didn’t attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Sources close to the former CM said she spent most of Saturday packing up various paintings, artefacts and books that she collected over the years. “She’s also looking for a new house in New Delhi, her former constituency. She has a massive collection of books and paintings. She’s also looking for a place to store them,” a close aide said.

On Saturday morning, Sheila Diksiht went to the Congress headquarters on 24, Akbar Road for the 128th foundation day of the Congress, which, ironically, coincided with Kejriwal’s oath-taking ceremony.

“I think she’s still trying to acclimatise herself to this new scenario. But at the same time, she’s enjoying the fact that she has time at her disposal,” a senior Congress leader said.

After returning from the party’s foundation day ceremony, she instructed the security guards at her residence not to allow journalists inside.

She has also ordered a new car. Sheila Dikshit was one of the few candidates who contested elections this year without a car.

On Friday she told reporters at her residence that she planned to “drive her new car herself” and that she’d always enjoyed driving, while admitting that negotiating with the increased traffic in Delhi might take some getting used to.

Source: IANS