NEW DELHI: The campaign for the upcoming bypolls to urban civic bodies in the national capital is inching towards climax as both the AAP and the BJP are leaving no stones unturned to ensure victory. The AAP on Wednesday fielded its most valuable asset – Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal—to lead a road show in Shalimar Bagh, a BJP bastion.
The AAP is confident of bagging all the five seats which will go to polls on February 28. Four of these seats were won by the party in the last election. In Shalimar Bagh North, which has been a BJP stronghold, the party is putting in extra effort to wrest the ward from the hands of saffron party. With the BJP having a sizeable presence in the seat, the AAP is using Kejriwal’s popularity to canvass votes for candidate Sunita Mishra. The AAP has dubbed the bypolls as preliminary test for the bigger MCD elections slated next year around the same time.
Spread as separate pockets, the ward has a mixed population including both posh colonies and slum and Jhuggi Jhompri clusters. If one moves around here, the locality clearly gives the vibe of a political hot spot. Flags of political parties can be seen fluttering on the roofs of small shops, establishments and houses.In scenes reminiscent to assembly poll campaigns, Kejriwal travelled on a specially designed jeep amid cheer through a slum cluster in Shalimar Bagh. The entire route was decorated with balloons while groups of youngsters danced to the campaign tunes in front of the cavalcade.
“The opinion here is clear, only the AAP is going to win. The BJP councillors who were voted to power did not do anything for the people. Corruption is the real problem and we the downtrodden have to face it the most,” said Amar Kumar, a resident. “We have elections on Sunday and you all must go and vote for the AAP. We have worked for Delhi in the last six years by improving schools, hospitals, availability of electricity and water.
However, the BJP has put the MCD in shambles. It is your responsibility to make AAP victorious in the MCD. Together we have to change the face of MCD,” said Kejriwal addressing the crowd. Besides Kejriwal, local MLA Bandana Kumari, national treasurer of the party Pankaj Gupta and MCD election in-charge Durgesh Pathak held were present. “AAP government has done some good work that no government has ever done in the past.
We will give a chance to them. People will vote for Kejriwal as he is helping the poor at a time when everything is expensive,” said Danish who runs a furniture shop in Shalimar Bagh.Heeding to demand, the CM said his government would soon sanction `100 crore for a sewer line in Bawana However, for some residents, local issues are not that important when it comes to voting. “Although the Kejriwal government has done good work, I will not vote for the AAP because it is siding with forces that are trying to break India,” said a resident who did not wished to be named.