Navratra is the time for Ram Leelas in the national capital. Given the COVID-driven restrictions, the dramatic presentation of the life story of Prince of Ayodhya remained a low-key affair this year too. But there continue to be enough theatrics on the streets.
Political parties last week locked horns for allowing the festivity of Chhath. The said festival is about 20 days away, six days after Diwali. Delhi's festivity calendar has so far been known to have Diwali as the major landmark after Dussehra but the events of the last week showed that Diwali is being given a go by for Chhath.
If there are restrictions in place, they would first have to go away for Diwali and then only for Chhath. Diwali festivities in Delhi is best known for the multiple Diwali melas held across the city but nobody really seems to be missing them.
The restrictions last year did not allow the melas, and the chances of the same returning with the same robustness are unlikely this year too. To add to it are the near ban on the bursting of the crackers, which is so closely identified with Diwali but nobody is complaining, and rightly so.
A city that witnessed mayhem this summer with funeral pyres burning in plenty, ideally should not have its political parties fighting for removing restrictions that seek to keep the deadly virus away. But then in politics more than dousing the fire of the pyres, appeasing the sentiments of electorally strong community matters.
With the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections scheduled for April next year, street theatres are a necessity to garner votes, at least that’s what the political parties across the spectrum think. Chhath is the main festival of migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Today, they are spread in good numbers across all the 70 assembly constituencies of the National Capital.
Given the political sensitivity of the people coming from the state and their large presence giving them electoral sinews, wooing them is the single-point agenda of the political parties, who are demanding the removal of Covid restrictions for celebrating the Chhath festival.
Under attack from political rivals of the Aam Aadmi Party’s like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, which is trying to regain the migrant votes, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal last week finally urged Lt Governor Anil Baijal to allow Chhath puja celebrations in the public places.
The political parties have ostensibly taken to the streets following an order issued on September 30 by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which prohibited Chhath celebrations at public places, in view of the threat posed by COVID-19. Now in a letter to Baijal, Kejriwal has written that "as the COVID situation in the city was under control", the L-G could call a meeting of the DDMA to discuss the ban on public celebrations.
Migrants in the city have been the worst sufferers during the lockdowns imposed over the past two years, losing lives and jobs, in many cases reverse migrations. It’s a fact that be it the city government led by Kejriwal or the civic bodies controlled by the BJP, both failed to provide the requisite succour to the migrant population.
Now with elections looming large, parties think it’s time for them to make amends and redeem themselves in front of the electorally strong community, whom they all had let down during their hour of crisis. Let there, however, be no doubts that this search for catharsis and making amends for their past deeds come with an eye for votes in the municipal polls.
(The writer is author and president, Centre for Reforms, Development & Justice)