NEW DELHI: Padam Singh Panwar, senior citizen and resident of Mayur Vihar Phase-2, is one determined, sure and committed voter. “My vote will be for the new kind of politics that we are seeing in Delhi. Some work is yet to be done. But, whatever has been done has made life easier for me and my family. I will vote accordingly,” he says.
Mayur Vihar falls in Patparganj represented by number 2 in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hierarchy Manish Sisodia. Ushering in a new wave in Indian politics the leader won the seat in 2015 Assembly polls from his closest rival Vinod Kumar Binny, who had crossed over from AAP to the BJP.
Patparganj, traditionally a Congress party seat has only once elected a BJP MLA in 1993. Since then, the party has not had any luck on the seat. Sisodia had won the same seat in 2013 assembly elections.
Sudheer Jaiswal who resides in East Vinod Nagar has a different view. A government employee by profession, Jaiswal says, “Take money but give us clean water. I still have to make up my mind on who will I vote for but clean water is my priority. Most of the time we get dirty water. In the entire colony that I live in, there is hardly anyone left who does not own a water purifier.”
A clear divide can be felt in the constituency due to free public welfare schemes of the Delhi government which has won it adherents. However, the urban educated class often questions why services should be provided free of cost? There are people like Nisha too who is into pottery making for a living, who laud the AAP schemes.
“No government has done for us what the Kejriwal government has done. Free water, electricity and transport saves us a lot of money. My best wishes and prayers are for AAP. We dream that our children also come to par with affluent school kids who study in private schools but we can only afford to send them to government school. We have noticed a lot of changes in the school system and progress of our kids,” said Nisha, a resident of Pandav Nagar in the area.
Parveen Sethi, a shop owner in Patparganj Village, however, said he will vote on the national issue of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). But he confesses to being ‘undecided.’
“People who are living illegally in the country should leave. Our population is increasing immensely but the resources are limited. The only solution to this is CAA. Manish Sisoida did a lot of work in the constituency, especially for better health and education. So I am yet to decide who I will vote for though I support the citizenship law completely”.
AAP is yet to announce the list of candidates but Sisodia is most likely to contest from the same seat. But will the seat throw a surprise is a moot point.