NEW DELHI: For 20-year-old Disha Garg, wherever her memory takes back, she has always seen filth around her house in Vishwas Nagar near Shahdara. “Regarding cleanliness, Vishwas Nagar has always fared worse than the neighbouring localities. The streets remain littered with garbage. Vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria are common, especially during the monsoon,” she claimed.
Vishwas Nagar, a part of the East Delhi constituency, has a diverse demography. On one hand, it houses slums and unauthorised colonies, while on the other, it is well-off colonies. Moreover, several small industrial units also operate in the area, with many among them illegally.
Last year, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished eight structures as part of an anti-encroachment drive. Besides cleanliness, sanitation, and encroachment, law and order are other primary concerns for residents. Last year, the body of a 23-year-old woman was found in a bag with marks of strangulation. “I always ensure my daughters are back home by 8 pm. I can’t trust anyone here,” Shefali Gupta, a resident, said.
Another resident who did not wished to be named said the cases of vehicle theft and robbery have increased but authorties failed to curb the crime. “The rate of crime has been increasing despite the patrolling by the police,” the resident claimed.
Politically, the Vishwas Nagar assembly is one of the few in the national capital that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been unable to win. The Bhartiya Janata Party’s Om Prakash Sharma has held the seat since 2013, increasing his vote share from 38 per cent in 2013 to 45.15 per cent in 2015 to 52.57 per cent in 2020.
The constituency has been a bastion for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election with the party winning 58.88 per cent of the vote in 2014 and 47 per cent in 2019. Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir currently represents the constituency from the BJP. For the Lok Sabha elections, the party has replaced the cricketer-turned-politician with Harsh Malhotra, a former mayor of the erstwhile East Delhi Municipal Corporation. He will be up against Kuldeep Kumar from the AAP, MLA from the Kondli (East) seat.
AAP has already begun its Lok Sabha campaign in the locality, kickstarting the ‘Jail ka Jawab Vote Se’ campaign on April 11.The Lok Sabha elections will be held in the national capital on May 25 in the sixth phase and counting on June 4.
Bastion of BJP
Politically, the Vishwas Nagar assembly is one of the few in the national capital that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been unable to win. The Bhartiya Janata Party’s Om Prakash Sharma has held the seat since 2013, increasing his vote share from 38 per cent in 2013 to 45.15 per cent in 2015 to 52.57 per cent in 2020. It has been a bastion for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election as well.