Syed Ali Ahmed | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 3–Though three months are left for Delhi Legislative Assembly elections, major political parties are busy to reach electorates by taking up either their achievements or slinging mud on the rival parties.
BJP, which is in power at the Centre, is reaching electorates with getting a bill passed for approval of 1700 unauthorized colonies, Ayodhya verdict for Ram Temple, scrapping of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and other local issues including onion prices. Aam Aadmi Party(AAP), the ruling party in Delhi, is countering the BJP by showcasing its achievements in education, health, power sectors and reduction in corruption in administration. It also says that the Bill passed in Parliament on unauthorized colonies, is an illusion.
Not to be left behind, the Congress is busy in making wooing electorates by slinging mud on both the BJP and AAP, highlighting the achievements of its erstwhile government led by late Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who has left many legacies in the national Capital.
The smaller parties – BSP, SP and INLD – have yet not started their activities in their respective areas of North-East, East and Outer Delhi, neighbouring Haryana.
BJP
The RSS-supported BJP has seen that scrapping of Article 370 failed to yield electoral dividends in Maharashtra elections where the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress have formed the government. In Jharkhand, it has been left alone by its alliance parties. Feeling that the Ayodhya verdict may also not benefit the party in Delhi, it has deployed its senior leaders like national vice president Shyam Jaju, Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari, state secretary Kuljeet Chahal for meeting residents of unauthorized colonies door to door assuring them for registration of their properties as the Parliament has passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill, 2019. The process to regularize the colonies will begin from this month. The Congress had only befooled the people in 2008 by giving just provisional regularization certificates.
Manoj Tiwari, being a ‘poorvanchali’, is visiting unauthorized colonies where people of Bihar and East Uttar Pradesh are in majority. To flatter them, he speaks in chaste “Bhojpuri” language and often sings Bhojpuri songs to attract them. He is Lok Sabha member from North East Delhi parliamentary constituency that may prove beneficial to the BJP.
The BJP also tried to tarnish the image of Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi government through Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ramvilas Paswan, raising the issue of infected water supply by the Delhi Jal Board. Environment is another issue for which state government is being blamed.
Besides, to entice voters the BJP-ruled three municipal corporations – North, East and South – are constructing drains that will help in clear the waterlogging during raining season.
Inflated rate of onion is another issue that is used by the BJP. The BJP had lost the government in 1998 due to the same issue.
The BJP has released a report prepared on the basis of survey conducted by its public research centre that said the AAP failed to meet the 67 promises out of 70.
Congress
The Congress Party that has ruled the Delhi state for 15 consecutive years from 1998 to 2013 is going on old track of Punjabi voters though Delhi has no more Punjabi character. It is dominated by ‘poorvanchalis’, majority of whom reside in unauthorized colonies. The Congress high command has appointed a Punjabi leader, Subhash Chopra, as president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) that is unlikely to benefit the party in assembly elections.
Infighting in the DPCC may be another reason for throwing Congress on backtrack. The loyalists of late Sheila Dikshit who had a say in all communities, rural section of the society and Punjabi electorates are not included in the team of new DPCC that may go against the party interest in the elections. She herself was Punjabi but married to a Congress stalwart of Uttar Pradesh and was aware of voters’ pulse. It seems the state unit has that vacuum, said a senior party member on condition of anonymity.
Chopra’s age factor may be yet another reason for not competing BJP’s Manoj Tiwari and AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal.
However, party raises the same issues of environment, parking, water, pollution, inflated rate of onion against the Kejriwal government in Delhi and targeting BJP on high rate of GST, demonetization that caused inflation, economic slowdown, GDP going to the lowest of 4.5, formulating policies flouting the Constitution and demanding registration of properties in unauthorized colonies.
The Congress that does not have a single MLA in assembly had “Akrosh Rally” and Hallabol rally saying that democracy was murdered in Maharashtra when Fadnavis had formed the government with the support of NCP’s Ajit Pawar. The rally also addressed the issues of economic slowdown, GST, chaotic transport system.
AAP
By improving the education system, health and by providing free drinking water supply and free power up to 200 units, AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has won the hearts of middle class people of Delhi, particularly residents of unauthorized colonies.
Responding to its rival parties, AAP said that registration of properties in unauthorized colonies was an illusion like it was done with 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims. In 2015, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had announced to give Rs 3 lakh compensation to each victim. But only 10 victims were handed over the cheques by the Minister.
Congress, during its 15 year rule, had spent only Rs 1186 crore for development work in unauthorized colonies while AAP government spent Rs 8147 crore, Kejriwal said in a statement.
Delhi Food and Civil Supplies and Environment Minister Imran Hussain has written to Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan that National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd(NAFED) is not providing onion to Delhi. The NAFED had taken responsibility to provide onion to Delhi government at the rate Rs 15.60 per kg. The Delhi government had assured to sell the onion at the rate of Rs 23.90 per kg from its outlets.
BJP is using the water testing issue just for pulling the leg of Kejriwal’s government. Water sample was not collected from the addresses mentioned in the report released by Paswan. When Delhi Jal Board got tested the water samples in the government laboratory, it was found clean and fit for drinking, said Yogendra Bhardwaj of AAP.
