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In Delhi, AAP drags BJP down to local level

In Delhi, local issues are dominating the election narrative.

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Syed Ali Ahmed in New Delhi

In Delhi, local issues are dominating the election narrative. Full statehood, law and order, sanitation, construction of roads, water and power supply and jobs are among the more prominent issues that contestants across the political spectrum are seeking votes on. While the BJP candidates are also highlighting the achievements of the BJP-led Central government, the AAP contestants are reiterating how Arvind Kejriwal’s government has raised the standard of government schools, improved health services through mohalla clinics, reduced the water and power bills, etc. The Congress candidates, on the other hand, are seeking votes for the development works their government carried out during its 15-year stint from 1998 to 2013.

The issues such as the GST and demonetisation will be particularly significant in the Chandni Chowk area, where traders are in the majority. Besides, sealing of business establishments, congestion, parking and development of Shahjahanabad (Chandni Chowk) are also major factors here. In North-West Delhi, where the Dalits constitutes 35 per cent of the total votes, regular salary of sanitation workers under the Municipal Corporations of Delhi, security of women in East Delhi and law and order in South Delhi are the other major area-specific issues.

Following the failure of the AAP and the Congress to form an alliance, all seven Lok Sabha seats here will see a triangular fight. Had the two managed to strike an alliance, the fight would have become one to one, and perhaps a little more intriguing.  At the moment, the main fight seems to be between the BJP and the AAP; the Congress is likely to put up a stiff fight in two constituencies — Chandni Chowk and North-East Delhi — where it has fielded its old guard JP Agarwal and DPCC president Sheila Dikshit, respectively. For the BJP, Dr Harsh Vardhan will fight from Chandni Chowk, while its Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari is contesting from North-East Delhi. Being the sitting MPs, both the BJP candidates will have to endure some anti-incumbency.

As is the case in rest of the country, the campaigning here has been vitriolic. The BJP and the AAP are not losing a single opportunity to drag the other though the mud. The BJP contestants are alleging that the AAP government has failed in implementing the Union Government’s schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, a health scheme under which treatment up to Rs 5 lakh will be done free of cost for a huge chunk of society, the construction of toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission, etc. The BJP is also accusing the AAP of not having done enough in schools and higher education and infrastructure development. To buttress its allegation, the BJP released a review report of the AAP election manifesto of the 2015 Assembly elections, highlighting its failure on various points. The AAP, on the other hand, claims the Central government picks up a share in Delhi Government’s portion in Central taxes and that has affected the development work. 

BJP’s national leaders Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah have asked the electorates to vote for the saffron party citing national security. In his first roadshow on May 1, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal concentrated on slum and jhuggi clusters, appealing the inhabitants to vote against the BJP as it did nothing for the citizens of Delhi. Making light of the Congress candidates, he asked the electorate to not waste their vote by casting it in favour of the Congress candidates as they would lose their deposits. Just focus on the AAP candidates, he implored.

AAP’s senior leader Manish Sisodia,   deputy Chief Minister, said the BJP was showing its true character in the Lok Sabha elections. The party, he alleged, was trying to poach AAP MLAs so it could create a political atmosphere that aids its victory. The Congress, meanwhile, has surprisingly put in a restrained effort so far — not a single national-level leader has addressed a public rally to prop up the party candidates. Left to fend for themselves, the candidates are doing road shows and meetings without any visible support from their top leaders.


Key contests 

North east Delhi

Sheila Dikshit (Congress) vs Manoj Tiwari (BJP)

Sheila Dikshit, president of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, is seeking votes on the development works her government carried out during 1998-2013. She’s raising the issues like sanitation, parking, road construstion, etc., while highlighting the failure of the BJP-ruled Municipal Corporation in providing civic amenities in the North East constituency. She has been slamming the AAP government on the issue of roads.

Manoj Tiwari, the Delhi BJP chief, is highlighting his achievements of the past five years, the brightest being the constitution of a committee by Union Ministry of Urban Affairs for granting ownership rights to property owners in 1, 797 unauthorised colonies in Delhi, completion of Signature Bridge, construction of a metro line, a railway halt at Meet Nagar and installation of CCTV cameras.

East Delhi

Atishi (AAP) vs Gautam Gambhir (BJP) 

A debutant in Parliamentary election, Atishi is highlighting the achievements of the Delhi Government — improvement in health services and education standard in government schools, construction of new class rooms, reduction of power and water bills. Reservation for local students in Delhi colleges is another issue on her list. Besides, safety and security is a major issue in the constituency.

Gambhir, a debutant, is promising quality education. He says merely improving infrastructure is not enough, the government needs to focus on quality as well. He says AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal is raising the issue of full statehood because he failed to deliver on his promises.  He says his guiding principle in politics will be the same as in the game of cricket.

South  Delhi

Ramesh Bidhuri (BJP) vs Raghav Chadha (AAP)

Ramesh Bidhuri, a sitting MP, is banking on the work he did in the past five years. He counts the construction of roads, overbridge on Mehrauli-Badrpur flyovers, the construction of toilets under Swachh Bharat, Heritage City Development Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), projects of the Ministry of Transport among his achievements.

Raghav Chadha faces law and order issue in the constituency. He alleges that the BJP MP hasn’t done anything worthwhile. Not even a single school or a hospital has come up in the constituency in the last five years, alleges the young AAP leader. Chadha also alleged that the BJP candidate has an FIR registered against him.

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