At AAP’s rally in New Delhi constituency, speeches focus on Kejriwal, local issues take a back seat

“Kejriwal is not a person, he’s an ideology. You can capture a body, how will you capture an ideology?… Iss baar, BJP 400 paar nahi, tadipaar hai,” said Bharti.

Addressing a predominantly Poorvanchali population, Bharti, who is originally from Nawada in Bihar and has been an MLA from Malviya Nagar since 2013, also spoke about over 1,000 Chhath ghats built by the AAP government and “respect” given to the residents from the region.

Singh, meanwhile, said that with the incidents of Opposition candidates joining the BJP before the polls, it had become clear that the BJP wanted to snatch people’s right to vote.

“In Surat, the BJP candidate was declared victorious without holding elections, while in Indore, the Congress candidate had to withdraw his nomination. BJP formed the government by toppling the governments in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra… These people want to take away your right to vote by changing the Constitution,” Singh said.

Residents, meanwhile, said that they want a representative who will solve their local issues.

“Somnath Bharti is well-educated… for the development of the country, the government should be of well-educated people,” said Sanjay Maurya, who added that crime has been “rampant” in the area and he expects his next MP to improve that.

Accusing the BJP of overlooking the area, Sarbjeet Kumar Gautam, who works in a printing press, said, “They (BJP) haven’t done a single thing here in the past years… They took years just to build a railway over-bridge, meanwhile, people kept dying on the railway tracks… They even had to change their candidate this time… kaam nahi karenge to badalna he padega na.”

Surender, an e-rickshaw driver, who drove AAP supporters to the venue, however, said that he still supports the BJP. “Modi ji ne jo socha hoga to accha he socha hoga (Modi ji must have thoroughly thought upon this before taking the decision),” he said, referring to BJP’s decision to replace incumbent MP Meenakshi Lekhi with Bansuri Swaraj.

“Her mother (Sushma Swaraj) has done a lot for the country… I believe she will work for the people too…,” he added.

(The writer is an intern with The Indian Express)

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