Delhi’s fight over basic amenities sharpened as former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, took her campaign to Mundka Ward 35 and Dakshinpuri Ward 164, urging voters to back the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) bypolls.
The Delhi Assembly LoP told residents that the BJP Government has “failed Delhi on electricity, water supply, roads and pollution,” arguing that the city has been pushed into decline in just ten months. Contrasting this with what she called the “ten-year governance model of free electricity, water, healthcare and education” under Arvind Kejriwal, she said BJP leaders are now “busy extracting money from contractors,” leaving sewer and road works stalled despite approved tenders.
Former Delhi CM and Delhi Assembly LoP Atishi stated, “Delhiites fell for the BJP’s big promises and made them the government, but now they are regretting it. Today the biggest complaint is that roads are broken, lanes are waterlogged and problems are visible everywhere. BJP MLAs have completely disappeared. They neither meet people nor do any work. The people of Delhi still remember Arvind Kejriwal’s work and honesty. In this by-election, people are clearly saying they will choose the Aam Aadmi Party because politics of work is the only solution.”
She continued, “Election day is extremely important because we cast our vote only once but its impact lasts for years. If we vote in the right place and elect the right candidate and party, then work happens in our area and our lives improve. But during elections different kinds of people appear. Some make false promises, some offer temptations and try to mislead people. If we get carried away or fooled, no matter how much we regret later, the decision of that vote cannot be changed. That is why we must vote thoughtfully.”
Referring to the wrong electoral choices made ten months ago, the former Delhi CM asserted, “We must vote for those who work for us. Ten months ago, the Delhi Assembly election took place. People came to ask for votes and made big promises, they said every problem would be solved. We were misled and voted for them. After that single vote, the entire area is now regretting the decision. Sewer lines and roads across the locality are broken and during rains the water rises up to the knees. Everyone knows that those who make big statements do not work. It is the Aam Aadmi Party that works. No one works as much as the folks of Arvind Kejriwal’s party.”
Recalling a decade of the AAP government, she added, “For ten years, Delhi had Arvind Kejriwal’s government. The BJP kept trying to obstruct his work but Arvind Kejriwal continued working for the people. He gave 24-hour electricity, water, good schools for children and hospitals. But in just ten months the BJP has ruined the entire area.”
“When I was Public Works Department Minister, I passed all the tenders for your roads and sewer lines. But as soon as the BJP came to power and their MLAs were elected, they started demanding money from contractors. Unless they get money, they do no work. That is why even after tenders were passed, not a single sewer or road work has been done in ten months,” she further said.
Highlighting the Aam Aadmi Party government’s welfare-focus, Atishi continued, “When the Aam Aadmi Party was in government in Delhi, we only thought about how to improve the lives of common people and marginalised families. When one member of a household falls sick and needs treatment in a private hospital, families have to pawn their jewellery.”
The Delhi Assembly LoP emphasised that Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party understood this pain. “Arvind Kejriwal made electricity free, water free and medicines free in Mohalla Clinics. He made bus travel free for women. Arvind Kejriwal taught all his MLAs one thing, that those who vote for us are the ones whom the MLA must serve,” she shared.
Highlighting the local situation, Atishi said, “In Dakshinpuri the situation is such that no local wanted to contest the councillor election on a BJP ticket. The BJP had to bring a candidate from Ambedkar Nagar. A person who is not from your locality and does not live in your lanes cannot understand your problems. The BJP has bankrupted the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Even if by mistake a BJP councillor gets elected, they will not have even a penny to spend. After winning they will say they do not have funds.”
