As one travels from Lutyens’ Delhi to Mandawali, the green boulevards of Lok Kalyan Marg (formerly Race Course Road) and bungalows of Jor Bagh give way to open drains, and potholed and crammed roads.
Called ‘ Jamuna paar (beyond Yamuna river)’ in common parlance, the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency is considered to be one of the least developed areas in the Capital.
The parliamentary seat will see a three-way fight with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) nominating Atishi, BJP fielding former cricketer Gautam Gambhir, and Congress putting forward former Delhi Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Thirty-five-year-old Mohammad Shameem, who works at an auto body and repair shop in east Delhi, said: “I have seen her [Atishi] many times in photos with [Chief Minister] Arvind Kejriwal. She will win from here. We will vote for ‘jhadu’ [broom].”
The owner of the workshop, Naveen Kumar, had a different view. “After [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi came to power, there has been development. Earlier, even if 50 trees were cut for a project it would be stalled. But now, they will plant 100 trees and cut 50 and the project goes on. Gambhir nikalega seat [Gambhir will win the seat],” he said.
Both, however, agreed that the upcoming Lok Sabha fight for the seat will be between AAP and the BJP — a view that was repeatedly heard across the constituency as The Hindu visited Zakir Nagar, IP Extension, Trilokpuri and Mandawali.
The seat
The East Delhi constituency has 10 Assembly seats: Jangpura, Okhla, Trilokpuri, Kondli, Patparganj, Laxmi Nagar, Vishwas Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Shahdara. Except for Jangpura and Okhla, all other areas are on the east side of the Yamuna and hence is often called ‘ Jamuna paar ’.
In 2014, the BJP had won all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. BJP MP Maheish Giri had won East Delhi by a margin of 1.9 lakh votes, with AAP finishing second and Congress in the third position. In 2009 and 2004, Congress had bagged all the seven seats in Delhi.
In the 2015 Assembly election, AAP won with an overwhelming majority of 67 out of the 70 seats. This success, however, may not translate to a win in the general election as it has “different dynamics”, many opined.
Strategic plays
AAP announced Atishi’s candidature on March 2 — over 45 days before the BJP and the Congress followed suit. The Kejriwal-led party has been campaigning in the area for a much longer time and hopes that the extra face time with voters will give it an advantage.
The BJP is relying on PM Modi’s popularity and Mr. Gambhir’s star value, while the Congress has launched attacks on both candidates by terming them “political tourists” and “outsiders” as they are not from East Delhi.
Large sections of AAP’s core voter base – economically backward and lower-middle income groups — still support the party in many areas.
Several people pointed out that a lack of alliance between AAP and the Congress would lead to their common voter base getting split, and the BJP would reap the benefits.
In Trilokpuri Block 34, Himanshu Aggarwal said he missed catching a glimpse of Mr. Gambhir when he took out a roadshow in the area recently. Asked whether the former cricketer would get votes as he is a star, Mr. Aggarwal shook his head, “It is difficult. He may win as there is still a Modi wave”.
Across the lane, a youth called out to Mr. Aggarwal: “ Dekha Gambhir ko ? [Did you see Gambhir?].” “I have seen him many times at the stadium,” he answered back. “My little brother has gone crazy having caught a glimpse of him [Mr. Gambhir],” Mr. Aggarwal said.
As children played with the rose petals showered on the former cricketer during the roadshow, 68-year-old Ram Prakash, who sells pakoras looked on. “Vote toh Modi ko hi milega [It is Mr. Modi whom people are going to vote for],” he said while frying bread pakoras.
In Zakir Nagar, nearly a dozen people said they would be choosing between AAP and the Congress.
Candidates
East Delhi is a prestige seat for AAP as Ms. Atishi is seen as one of its strongest candidates and is close to senior party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. She is given credit for the changes in the education system that the AAP government has brought in Delhi. Ms. Atishi studied history at St. Stephen’s College in Delhi and then pursued her Master’s degree at Oxford University.
She has been asking people to vote for AAP so that Delhi can get full statehood and the Central government can be stopped from “disrupting” development works being done by the city government. “There is a lack of security, higher educational opportunities, and affordable housing, which has led to unauthorised colonies,” Ms. Atishi told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, sources in the BJP said that the delay in announcing Mr. Gambhir’s candidature had created some issues. He joined the party just a month ago and his candidature was declared last week.
Mr. Gambhir has been stressing on the point that he is from Delhi and not an outsider and wants to make East Delhi the best.
When asked about the core issues facing the constituency, Mr. Gambhir said: “It is too early to comment on the core issues. But I want to make East Delhi the best and stick to our promises. We want to make sure that people get clean drinking water, shut down Ghazipur landfill and make an East Delhi campus of Delhi University.”
He said that the other two candidates are not a competition for him and Mr. Kejriwal has done nothing for the people of Delhi in the past four-and-a-half years and he was not worried that AAP has a head start.
When asked about the problems facing East Delhi, Congress candidate Mr. Lovely said: “Sealing is a big issue and also sanitation. The Prime Minister talks about sanitation, but the condition is pathetic right under his nose, in Delhi.”
He said that lack of transportation and pollution are two other issues in which East Delhi lags behind. Mr. Lovely was the Education Minister during Sheila Dikshit’s tenure as Delhi Chief Minister.
Ms. Atishi has filed a criminal case against Mr. Gambhir alleging that he has two voter ID cards and urged people to not vote for someone who is going to be disqualified.
While Mr. Lovely said that the BJP is his main opponent, Ms. Atishi indirectly said that BJP was her main opponent by stating that Congress has been number three in the previous elections in Delhi.
With all three candidates taking out rallies and door-to-door campaigns, the election heat is picking up in East Delhi, but not everyone is hopeful.
Next to an uncovered stinking drain along a slim concrete road at a jhuggi in Trilokputi, 50-year-old Akeela said: “Election ke time pe sab bolta hai ki yeh hoga woh hoga, jab jeet jata hai to kuch nahi hota (Everyone promises one thing or the other before the elections, but do nothing after they win).”
Constituency in focus
East Delhi
Total number of voters = 20,39,220
Male voters = 11,28,885
Female voters = 9,09,306
Third gender = 79
* The East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency has 10 Assembly constituencies: Jangpura, Okhla, Trilokpuri, Kondli, Patparganj, Laxmi Nagar, Vishwas Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Shahdara.
* Except for Jangpura and Okhla, all other areas are east of river Yamuna and hence the district is also known as “Jamuna Paar”
Lok Sabha election 2014
MAHEISH GIRRI (BJP) -- 5,72,202 votes (47.81 %)
RAJMOHAN GANDHI (AAP) -- 3,81,739 votes (31.90%)
SANDEEP DIKSHIT (INC) -- 2,03,240 votes (16.98%)
Others 3.31%
