NEW DELHI: Unlike other constituencies, many voters in Malviya Nagar are not much impressed with the AAP government doling out freebies to the people ahead of the election. And if their mood is anything to go by, AAP’s sitting MLA Somnath Bharti is in for a tough fight this year. One explainer for this sentiment could be the fact that this constituency, which falls under the New Delhi parliamentary constituency, has some upmarket areas such as Hauz Khas, Safdarjung Enclave and Malviya Nagar. People living in these areas appreciate their MLA but are against giving away public services for free.
Another striking feature is the complaint of voters against what they claim is a lack of focus on infrastructural development despite the segment falling under a high-profile Parliamentary constituency. Arjun Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Humayunpur, Begum Pur, Malviya Nagar and Geetanjali Malviya Nagar are other areas that fall in this constituency.
“Why make everything free? There has been no development. No projects have been taken out to improve the infrastructure in the city. Everything has been made free…from buses to electricity to water…all for votes. If you want to benefit the people, what are you doing for us? The development of schools and hospitals is just propaganda. Not much has changed,” said Surender Singh Cheema, 62, a retired bank employee.
The issue of unemployment remained untouched, he said. “Kids are the future of the country. What has been done for them? There are no jobs. I feel the same party should be in power both in the Centre and the state…that can uplift the people of Delhi.” Radhe Sham, 51, agreed with Cheema. “There is a huge unemployment but the government is busy wasting public money.” Somnath Bharti, he said, is a good man but the policies are not right.
“Our children study at private schools. What difference is the government making to our lives,” Sham said, adding that in terms of infrastructural change, the government targeted areas of their supporters? “They know that our locality (Shivalik) won’t win them votes. They have developed areas, from where they have support already.” Interestingly, Malviya Nagar has mostly voted for the party that rules from the Delhi Secretariat. While the Congress won three times in this constituency, the BJP and the AAP have won it twice each and the JNP has won it once.
Somnath Bharti will face former councilor Shailender Singh Monty of the BJP and Congress candidate Neetu Verma, a former DUSU president. Many residents said that while their constituency didn’t need much attention, they were happy with the initiatives being taken for the downtrodden sections of the society. “Our lives are fine. We appreciate what the government has done for the poor,” said Shalini Khurana, 38 “They should do more.”
NK Kaushik, a retired MCD employee, said he had complaints with the BJP-led SDMC and the AAP-led Delhi government for not paying attention to minute issues. “The branches of trees in the colony park are yet to be lopped off.” His wife Suman Kaushik said that the branches reaching their house on the second floor in Malviya Nagar created safety issues. “Anyone can easily climb up. We are scared.”
But, Suman conceded that despite such hiccups, she supported the AAP for addressing bigger issues. “Kejriwal has worked hard. He has given free water and electricity to the poor. The AAP is certainly better than other parties (in the polls),” she said. This sentiment, perhaps, could be the hope that Somnath Bharti is looking for to work in his favour when the residents vote on February 8.