#WhatDelhiWants: "I did not have to pay a single paisa to police in 49 days of AAP"

As Delhi enters the election month, the city witnesses heavy campaigning all around the capital.. The television debates have hinted that there seems to be an extremely tough fight between the two major competitors- AAP and BJP.

Everybody has their own reasons for choosing to vote in favour of any of the two parties. We have been asking the aam admi of Delhi why they will support A,B or C meaning AAP, BJP or . And we shall be doing this daily until election day.

For AAP

“The 49 days of AAP was the only time in last 15 years when I did not have to pay a single paisa as haft to local police constable here. The constable took money from us just a day before the results were out in 2013. The day Arvind Kejriwal became Chief Minister, he came and returned the money to me.” shares Jitendra (name changed), a snacks seller near the Jasola metro station in South-East Delhi.

For BJP

“Kejriwal doesn’t have any credibility. BJP should not have made Kiran Bedi the Chief Ministerial candidate. But even then, she is better than Kejriwal. How can one show faith in a person who has high hopes of becoming Prime Minister of India?” said Dhaniram Gupta, owner of a retail shop in Sultanpur area of South-West Delhi.

When asked about the situation of political parties in the area Dhaniram explained, “The AAP candidate in my area was earlier a Ward Councillor from BJP. He is also relative of the BJP candidate in Assembly Elections. But they have some family dispute. The Congress candidate is also their relative. So in this area it is more of a family fight. BJP candidate is better than the two.”

The Undecided

Ram Singh (name changed), a rickshaw puller in the same area has a different take on voting. “I personally want to vote for AAP, but most of the people in my locality are voting for BJP. So, I have not really decided who will I vote for.”

I did not encounter any Congress supporter.

Supporters

On another occasion, I met a group of BJP campaigners in a Metro Station near Khan Market area. I initiated a conversation around preparedness of BJP in the elections. “BJP is fully prepared. We are going to sweep this election.” It was a rather obvious reply from a BJP member. I asked if they were from Delhi or from some other place. “We have come from Banaras (Varanasi) for the campaigning.”

“Why have you come all the way from Banaras for campaigning in a simple Assembly election?” I asked.

“Because we have realised that Kejriwal has once again becoming successful in fooling people of Delhi. Kiran Bedi is such a big name. How can people of Delhi believe in Kejriwal?” rhetorically asked one of the members from the campaigning team.

“We have come from Banaras, and many more people have come from other parts of the country. This time it will be Modi Sarkar in Delhi also.” informed another excited BJP supporter.

Delhi is getting exciting by the day with all the uncertainty hanging in the air. Since Anna movement, the city has become more political. It is the only city in India which has initiated so many public movements in last 4 years. This election will decide the future of Delhi, ‘And subsequently India’ according to Modi.

This article was first published on LokMarg.com on February 2, 2015

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