With Delhi municipal polls nearing and outreach campaigns already being run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules the three corporations South, North and East, the party’s Delhi unit chief and former North Delhi mayor Adesh Gupta is confident of a fourth term for the party. Those who have “performed” will be given a chance to contest this time, he told Vatsala Shrangi in an interview. Excerpts:
In the last municipal polls of 2017, the party in an image makeover had not given tickets to any of the sitting councillors. While anti-incumbency is still high, what is the strategy for the 2022 municipal polls?
It is still early to discuss the party’s poll strategy. What I can tell at the moment is that all those who have performed will be given a chance to re-contest in the elections due early next year. Besides, we are looking for leaders who have fared well on four major parameters --- honesty, visibility, performance and commitment. Those in the party, who fulfill these four parameters in their designated roles at present, will be considered for fighting the elections as well.
The Jhuggi Samman Yatra launched by the party last month to reach out to residents of slum clusters in the Capital, so far a key vote bank of the rival Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is a part of your poll campaign?
At least 25 lakh people live in Delhi’s slum clusters. As a major political party, it is our duty to reach out to people across all sections of the society. It is our regular outreach programme and not centred on the polls. We are making people aware of the central government’s schemes and registering those who have been left out of the same. These include the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and Sukanya Yojana, among others.
While interacting with the residents across the clusters, we have come to know that since the AAP came to power by promising people freebies, there has been no real change on the ground. The conditions of these clusters continue to be the same as they were under the Congress party’s rule. The AAP’s free water and electricity schemes have not reached people.
There have been allegations of corruption against BJP councillors and even the party had suspended three councillors two months ago for the same. The AAP, which is the major opposition in the corporations, has been attacking the party over the issue. How do you plan to address this issue ahead of the election?
BJP has a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to corruption. We have taken a stand against such practices in the past and will continue to do so. However, as to the attacks by the AAP, they are completely running a false agenda, just to gain political mileage. Have they ever been able to give any evidence to substantiate their false claims? The corporations have been facing a major fund crunch, because of the Delhi government not releasing funds due to the civic bodies, still we have only improved our services, be it waste management, clearing of dhalaos, maintaining city parks or parking facilities.
The corporations have been reeling under a financial crisis for the past five years with the North and East municipal bodies not even being able to pay their employees in time. While the corporations have been asking for funds, the Delhi government says it has already cleared the dues. How do you plan to resolve this issue?
It is simple that the AAP-led Delhi government wants to cripple the corporations ruled by the BJP. The financial crisis started since 2015 with the Delhi government not releasing funds under various heads, as sanctioned by the Delhi Finance Commission. All the three corporations have been trying hard to conceptualise revenue-generating projects so that we don’t even have to ask them for our due funds.
The BJP and the AAP have been at odds over the public celebrations of Chhath Puja at the banks of the river Yamuna this year even as the corporations have been preparing for the same all along. What do you plan to do about it
Since Purvanchalis comprise a major section of Delhi’s population, it is important that when all other facilities are opening up in the city, they too are allowed to observe their festival in the traditional manner. We will continue to demand that the celebrations be allowed at the ghats, for which the corporations are fully prepared. The Delhi government has deliberately done this while putting up a clean face by writing to the Centre to allow the festivities. They just want to play politics.