New Delhi: Sheila Dikshit, who was Chief Minister of Delhi for 15 long years, will be the chief ministerial candidate of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, the party announced on Thursday.

The announcement was made by Congress General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi at the party headquarters. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that she has been selected for her experience and good work in the past.

“For the first time your assumption has proved right,” he said, referring to media speculation that Dikshit, ousted from power in Delhi in December 2013, would be the face of the Congress in UP.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the corruption allegations levelled against Dikshit did not matter since BJP’s Chief Ministers in other states too faced corruption charges.

The Congress party has largely desisted from naming its chief ministerial candidate in poll-bound states in the past. But it made an exception in Uttar Pradesh by naming Sheila Dikshit (78) as its CM face. Dikshit had earlier last month met the Congress top brass amid speculation that she may be made the party’s chief ministerial face for next year’s assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Dikshit’s choice for the top post comes amid speculations that Prashant Kishore, who has been roped in as the party’s poll strategist for Uttar Pradesh, is of the view that a Brahmin face represents the Congress in the politically crucial state. Dikshit is the daughter-in-law of prominent Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh Uma Shankar Dikshit, who was a Brahmin face and had served as a union minister and governor for a long time. This move can be seen as an attempt on the Congress Party’s part to win back its traditional upper caste voters.