Lok Sabha election: Why vote is caste in tony South Delhi

Any mention of South Delhi is quite likely to evoke the typical images of high-end apartments of Vasant Kunj, sprawling farmhouses of Chhatarpur, the urbane coolness of the cheek-by-jowl hangout zones in Hauz Khas Village and the glitzy lights of Saket's shopping malls.

But the electoral outcome in the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat, perceived to be tony and progressive, will be decided by a fierce Jat vs Gujjar caste war and a bevy of rural issues, a Mail Today ground report has revealed. This Parliamentary constituency, because of the way it has been carved out, has mostly non-urban voters. Of the 20,67,467 voters, 95% come from unauthorised, rural and resettled areas.

Of the 42 villages, 18 are dominated by Jats and 12 by Gujjars. The two communities, combined with Purvanchalis (migrants from Eastern UP and Bihar), constitute nearly 30 % of the voters in South Delhi.

Gujjar-dominated areas include Badarpur, Chhatarpur and Tughlaqabad, while Jats are in good numbers in Deoli, parts of Bijwasan and Sangam Vihar.

The delimitation exercise in 2008 changed the profile of the South Delhi seat to a great extent as most of its urban areas went to New Delhi constituency.

"It's a misconception that South Delhi is an elite and urbane constituency. The choice of candidates by parties clearly shows that caste plays a decisive role in how people vote," Sanjay Kumar of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) told Mail Today. Vishal Singh, who lives in Kalkaji, one of the many congested neighbourhoods in South Delhi, said Gujjars and Jats have become property owners and they have Purvanchalis as their tenants. "Political parties have over the years tried to provide services in these illegal colonies keeping the vote-bank in mind," he said. "Only 10 % people in this seat live in apartments," said Singh, who teaches at a private college in Alaknanda.

No wonder, BJP has retained its MP and Gujjar leader Ramesh Bidhuri (57). Congress whose Ramesh Kumar lost badly in 2014 has again fielded a Jat candidate in Vijender Singh (33). Brought from Haryana's Bhiwani, the professional boxer is living in a Vasant Kunj apartment.

On the other hand, AAP's London School of Economics alumnus Raghav Chadha (31), a Punjabi from Delhi's Rajinder Nagar, is also wooing this rural and caste hotbed. But the chartered accountant is also flaunting on social media his stints with Deloitte, Grant & Thornton and his photo with Prince Charles.

LOCAL LAD

The BJP MP has been addressing the Gujjar community and also trying to woo Jats through separate chaupals. In his campaign, Bidhuri has been dismissing both AAP and Congress candidates as "outsiders". He talks about his proposals of an underpass to connect Mahipalpur to Aerocity and a college in Maidan Garhi near Saket.

"If any civic problem has not been addressed, it's because of the AAP government," said Bidhuri, who has been a BJP MLA from Tughlaqabad, part of South Delhi, thrice before making it to Parliament. "I fulfilled all my promises that I made. I thank PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for giving me another opportunity. I take pledge that I will keep serving my people again," he said.

BOXING RING

In his campaign, Singh has been meeting Jat community leaders, talking about his journey from a village to the professional boxing arena. He also lists failures of the BJP government at the Centre and Arvind Kejriwal's AAP government in Delhi. "Winning or losing doesn't matter. Even if I lose, I will be visiting and meeting people of the area. We know Narendra Modi-led government has failed miserably in the five years. There are no jobs," Singh said.

THE 'AAM AADMI'

Debutant Chadha is banking on door-to-door campaigns where he talks about the AAP government's work in Delhi and how "unapproachable" Bidhuri has been.

"People are happy that what Congress and BJP could not do in the last 70 years, AAP has done in four years. About 90 % of people in the area get piped water from Delhi Jal Board. People will just vote us for our government's work," said Chadha, who went to Modern School and lives in South Delhi. Congress, according to Chadha, is a spent force and his fight is with BJP.

"BJP and Congress have been fielding candidates with caste in mind. This was crucial. It fetched votes. AAP selects candidates on merit and credibility. I am sure people will vote on the performance of the MP and not caste," he said.

THE REAL ISSUES

From farmhouses of Chhatarpur, upscale neighbourhoods like Saket and Vasant Kunj and crammed, unauthorised colonies in Sangam Vihar and Nehru Camp, the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat is a demographic cocktail. The villages have over the years developed into what are now known as unauthorised colonies. Developed areas face problems like water scarcity and bad roads, while sewerage issues dominate unauthorised colonies.

"Drinking water comes once in three days, thanks to the apathy of Delhi Jal Board. We are dependent on private takers in summers," said Samir Upadhyay, a resident of pocket E of Vasant Kunj. Yoganand Shastri, four-time Congress MLA, who also represented Mehrauli assembly seat in South Delhi, acknowledged the crisis. "There was a proposal of replacing old water pipelines during Sheila Dikshit's government. Nothing has happened even after Arvind Kejriwal came to power," said the veteran leader.