‘Election campaign should focus only on development’
Jitender Singh Shunty is a social worker who has been awarded Padma Shri for his extensive works during the Covid-19 pandemic. Shunty was elected from Shahdara on BJP ticket in 2013. The AAP candidate from the Shahadra constituency tells Ifrah Mufti about his plans to introduce pink ambulances and ‘Dialysis on Wheels’.
Excerpts:
With Jagat Singh from Congress and Sanjay Goyal from the BJP, do you think it will be a tough fight this time?
Considering the fact that my motive behind contesting the election is just ‘seva niti’, I don’t take it as a fight. Neither it is a competition with others. Everything depends on voters. If they (voters) believe that a BJP or a Congress candidate is putting in more efforts than I am, they will vote for them. And I am fine with that because voters want the candidate to work on the ground and be with them in times of need.
What is your vision for the constituency?
The first thing I have planned once I win is to introduce pink ambulances with lady drivers. This is something I have been planning to do. I have seen difficult times during Covid. There are times when women are uncomfortable going in the ambulances driven by males. I also plan to have a quick response team, especially dedicated to women, so that they can call during an emergency situation.
My dream is to set up ‘Dialysis on Wheels’. Elderly people can seek help and a dedicated team will take them for dialysis as and when required. Taking senior citizens for dialysis is the toughest task. I would like to rope in professionals to do the job.
What are the major challenges for you?
It seems that there is no end to challenges. However, my priority is to provide basic amenities to the people. Traffic is very bad in the constituency and I would like work on that. Also, the lack of sidewalks makes Shahadra an accident-prone area. Another big challenge is garbage collection. A lot of residents complain about irregular garbage collection in the congested lanes and bylanes, which lead to waste accumulation. Being one of the oldest localities of Delhi, Shahadra has a very old sewage system. I would work on that.
Do you agree with the alleged manipulations -deletion and addition - in the voter list?
Absolutely. The Election Commission (EC) under some pressure is trying to show dead as alive and vice-versa. This is a manipulation, which needs correction. This time, we have seen major deletions in the names from the voter list. There are around 10,000 names, which have been deleted from the voter list of my constituency. I hope action must be taken in this regard at the earliest.
How do you engage with people during your campaign?
I am meeting people and telling them about my plans. In return, I want to learn from them whether they trust politicians and what are the feedbacks on major issues. As I said before my purpose of contesting the election is to serve the people. That’s what my party is doing. I strongly believe that our election campaign should be more about development.