Former Delhi Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly Atishi led roadshows on Friday in Naraina Ward 139 and Shalimar Bagh Ward 56, joined by senior AAP leader and MCD Prabhari Durgesh Pathak, to mobilise support for AAP’s candidates in the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by-elections.
The Delhi Assembly LoP said residents across the capital are increasingly disillusioned with the Rekha Gupta Government and now “regret bringing the BJP to power.” Atishi told voters that the MCD bypolls have become a moment of course correction, with people determined to “wipe out the BJP” and return to Arvind Kejriwal’s model of governance.
Pointing to the long-standing support for the Aam Aadmi Party in Pandav Nagar, former CM and LoP in Delhi Assembly, Atishi, stated, “Pandav Nagar has always given love and blessings to the Aam Aadmi Party. In 2022, when Durgesh Pathak contested the election, I personally walked through these lanes, visited every house. Today, I cannot believe that these are the same lanes and the same roads. Even the parks here have changed. Earlier, the parks were filled with garbage. The roads used to remain broken, but now the entire scene has changed.”
She emphasised, “This is the contribution of the Aam Aadmi Party and the soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal. If the people here vote for the Aam Aadmi Party in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by-elections, then his soldiers will serve you day and night and will work for the development of this area, working tirelessly for you.”
Highlighting the public anger towards the BJP, Atishi said, “The whole of Delhi is regretting trusting the BJP. People in Delhi are thinking that they wish they had not elected BJP to power. They will not get a chance to change their vote for the next four years, but the people of Pandav Nagar are very fortunate that God has given them the chance to choose the right party. We must vote for those who work for us, who serve us. We have to vote for those who work, not for those who come in the way of work.”
She continued, “Arvind Kejriwal always said remove poverty and give the poor a dignified life, give good schools, water, electricity, hospitals and free bus travel for women. But the BJP hates people living in ‘jhuggis’. They have removed the poor from Delhi itself. Since the BJP government was formed in Delhi, jhuggis are being demolished one by one. In the Kalkaji Assembly constituency, the BJP used bulldozers to demolish 800 houses. The jhuggi residents went to court, the hearing was scheduled for 11 am, but the BJP demolished their houses at 6 am, even before the hearing. In such times, only the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal came forward to fight for the jhuggi residents.”
During her roadshow in Shalimar Bagh, the Delhi Assembly LoP added, “The people of Shalimar Bagh are troubled by CM Rekha Gupta. They had voted for Rekha Gupta and the BJP with great hope. But the people of Shalimar Bagh are saying that after becoming Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta has done nothing for them. In this by-election, the public will defeat the BJP on all 12 seats.”
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and MCD Prabhari Durgesh Pathak said, “We thank the residents of Pandav Nagar because they have always blessed the Aam Aadmi Party. This is the reason the BJP hates the people here. When I became MLA, the roads here had knee-deep potholes. People told us that these roads had not been built for 25 years. I discussed this with Arvind Kejriwal, secured funds and the roads were built. The parks here were dumping grounds, but today you can see walking tracks for people.”
Pointing to stalled development under the BJP, Durgesh Pathak added, “As soon as the BJP government came, they stopped all the work. Around 70 percent of the work in the parks had been completed, and that too was stopped. They even ate up the money allotted for building ‘chaupals’ and parks. On the third, the election results will come and from the fourth, all the stalled work here will be restarted.”
