Congress veteran Jai Prakash Agarwal started his political journey as a municipal councillor and was elevated to the Lok Sabha from Chandni Chowk in 1984. He went to represent the constituency thrice. He was shifted to northeast Delhi parliamentary seat in 2009. This time, Agarwal has been again nominated from his home turf to take on BJP’s old hand Harsh Vardhan and first-timer Pankaj Gupta of AAP.
You were shifted to northeast Delhi and now you are back to home ground Chandni Chowk after a long gap of ten years. Is it going to be a challenge?
I have contested five elections from Chandni Chowk. I am deeply rooted here and my family belongs to old Delhi. It is a great feeling to come back to my roots. The people of the area still have affection and respect for me. Chandni Chowk will always remain special as I had made a debut in Parliament from here. I am still a voter of this constituency while my opponents of BJP and AAP candidates are outsiders.
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Demography of Chandni Chowk has undergone a sea change post delimitation. Earlier, it used to be smallest segment with about four lakh voters. What have you planned to overcome this?
It is true, at present, Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat has over 20 lakh voters. It comprises a larger part of north Delhi. But it does not matter because I am well-versed with the area. As the head of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee for six years, I was in constant touch with people and have worked on the ground.
Who is the bigger challenger? BJP or AAP?
There is no contest in Chandni Chowk because both parties have not done anything specific for the area. The people are remembering 15 years of governance when the Congress was in power. This is a big commercial centre, where traders suffered due to poor implementation of Goods and Services Tax, sealing and demonetisation. The AAP and the BJP have failed on all fronts.
It is surprising that as a Member of Parliament from the area, Harsh Vardhan, who was also a minister at the Centre, could not bring a single project for the betterment of the area. I don’t remember whether he had got any project approved for Chandni Chowk, which has a mix population in the Walled City, urban clusters and Jhuggi Jhoris.
What are the other issues, according to you, that will go against the sitting MPs?
The BJP candidates in Delhi are scared as they have understood that the people are upset with their government at the Centre. In 2014, the BJP had promised two crore jobs, but several factories in Delhi had to stop operations due to demonetisation and sealing.
Thousands of people were rendered jobless and became bankrupt. They are seeking immediate relief, therefore they are backing the Congress. With regard to the Walled city area, redevelopment of infrastructure and civic amenities including congestion and parking are among the slew of issues, which require immediate attention.
What are solutions to these problems?
We will ensure free and compulsory education from class 1 to 12 in all government schools. Every school will be provided better infrastructure and adequate number of teachers will be hired. Improving health services at hospitals is our aim. We will bring a law so that every citizen gets proper education and health services. I will make sure that new government schools are opened in Chandni Chowk constituency.
The NYAY scheme proposed by the Congress will do justice with every section of society. Every year the poor people of our country will get Rs 72,000 in their account. Unlike the BJP, whatever the Congress party promises, it fulfils. We waived off the debt of farmers immediately after the formation of its government in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
I will fulfil every single promise, I am making, if the Congress party comes to power this time.Our party does not believe in ‘jumlebazi’ (shallow promises). The BJP promised ‘Achhe Din’ five years ago, but the people of Delhi are still waiting for it. All those talks and assurances from BJP about ‘Achhe Din’ were nothing but rhetoric.