
NEW DELHI: A lively discussion unfolds at a tea stall close to the Hanuman temple near Connaught Place around noon, drawing the attention of those within their hearing range.
Unmindful of the gathering, mononymous Nirbhay and his friend Pramod Malhotra—both civil service aspirants—get on with debating the Delhi election animatedly. “Delhi na mange daru-jharu, Delhi mange vikas aur virasat, dear samjha karo,” observes Pramod. That elicits chuckles from the now-attentive crowd.
Pat comes Nirbhay’s counter, a smile creasing his face: “No, no! Modi ji ne Swachhata Abhiyan chalaya tha jharu hath me lekar. Delhi chahe more and more jharu.”
The chuckles turn into guffaws. So, who’s winning? They are suddenly contrite. “Delhi will prefer commitment, not corruption!” The New Delhi constituency has over 1,00,382 voters, including 45,713 women. Former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal won thrice from here. So did one of his predecessors, the late Sheila Dixit of Congress.
The BJP made it only once when Kirti Azad returned victorious over three decades ago. Kejriwal faces a stiff challenge from Pravesh Singh Verma, son of former CM Sahib Singh Verma, and Sandeep Dikshit, son of Sheila Dikshit. It’s a no-holds-barred contest. The catch is that many middle-class voters remain undecided.
Raghuvar Nirala, who runs an eatery on Mandir Road, sums up the mood: “The voters of our category, who constitute nearly 10.12% of voters, are still in a dilemma. We cannot overlook Kejriwal as he has left an impression on the voters, but the BJP’s Verma has made the race tough.”
Is the three-cornered fight creating confusion? Nirala explains: “Samay badalta hai sir. Nahi Kejariwal majboot hai, nahi Verma aur nahi Dikshit. Aisa lagta hai Congress yanha jitne nahi bulki Kejariwal ko harane aayee hai” (Neither Kejriwal nor Verma is comfortable, nor Dikshit.
Seems Congress has jumped in the fray not to win but defeat Kejriwal).” Many voters in a Jhuggi near NDMC favour Kejriwal primarily due to free electricity. But they weren’t critical of Verma or Dikshit. Tony Guleria, who sells flower plants for a living, says: “This time, Dikshit seems to be damaging Kejriwal more than Verma.”
At upscale Khan Market, Madhurendra Kumar, a private finance professional, gave his version: “BJP or Congress have not entirely weakened Kejriwal, but what has made the contest tougher for him is the entry of two strong and well-known candidates from both parties. Instead of presenting their vision for the constituency, BJP and Congress candidates are focusing more on attacking Kejriwal.”
Mohammed Aasif, who works in a stationery shop and resides in Kalibari Marg, had a different take. “The New Delhi constituency has a largely well-informed and educated voter base, barring some pockets. The manifestos of all parties focus more on luring voters with freebies rather than improving the lives of the poor. So, we will decide a day before polling.” The clock ticks on as Kejriwal eyes one more term. Dikshit wants his party back in the reckoning, and Verma pitches his party as the true representative of Delhi’s diverse demographics.
TOUGH BATTLE
In New Delhi assembly constituency, the AAP, led by Arvind Kejriwal, is seeking to retain its stronghold in the region, with Kejriwal himself once again emerging as the face of the party’s campaign
The campaign, underpinned by nationalistic rhetoric and promises of infrastructural development, seeks to challenge AAP’s grip on Delhi and present an alternative that focuses on security and economic growth
Congress aims to capitalise on disillusionment with both AAP and BJP, pitching itself as the true representative of Delhi’s diverse demographics