Date:29/12/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/12/29/stories/2003122908510400.htm

Other States - New Delhi

A watershed year for Delhi politics

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI DEC. 28. The year 2003 has been a watershed for Delhi politics. While on one hand it witnessed the historic triumph of the Sheila Dikshit-led Government that took office for the second consecutive term after winning a landslide mandate, on the other it saw the political exile of the one time "strongman" of the Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party from the city politics. The city also witnessed an unprecedented monsoon and a severe winter putting the Government men and machinery to test on various occasions.

It was a politically charged year that saw a bitter struggle between the Congress and the BJP for the battle of Delhi. In fact, the mood for the spectacular Congress victory in the Assembly polls was set by the massive win of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) in the Delhi University Students' Union polls. In the end, it was the darling of Delhi, the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, who came out with flying colours deflating Mr. Khurana's ego and dream of ruling Delhi once again. The year clearly belonged to Ms. Dikshit who single-handedly ensured the return of the Congress back to power in Delhi, as the party was badly mauled in the three other States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. She not only fought the Opposition BJP but also her political rivals within the party to emerge victorious in both the electoral and political battles. Ms. Dikshit shattered the life long dream of Mr. Khurana to take the Delhi throne once again and sent him into political exile in the process breaking the four-decade-old stranglehold of the Punjabi community over BJP politics. So badly were Mr. Khurana and the party shaken by the drubbing at the hustings that it was decided to give a new face to the BJP leadership in the Capital and the "Delhi ka pujari" was packed off to Rajasthan as the Governor. However, true to his nature, Mr. Khurana declared that everything was not over and he had taken time off politics for the time being. Strangely, the party leadership refused to back Mr. Khurana for a place in the party at the national level.

For the Chief Minister, her plank of good governance and development took Delhi by storm and Delhiites were thrown off their feet by her sophisticated and low profile approach. Ms. Dikshit rode back to power on her own terms and was strongly backed by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, in this endeavour. Not only did the Chief Minister have her say in the distribution of party tickets, she also managed to have her own people in the re-constituted new Council of Ministers. In fact, the Assembly polls in Delhi were a departure from the past as it saw populist issues taking a backseat and new issues concerning the day-to-day life of Delhiites taking centrestage. The issue of pollution, clean air, efficient public transport, modernised infrastructure, decongestion, flyovers and better roads were in focus. The year also saw the end to the four decade long political career of the former Finance Minister, Mahinder Singh Saathi, also the longest serving Mayor of Delhi. His defeat at the hustings marked the end of a cherished career of a Sikh politician who had stood by the Congress even during testing times. On the other hand, the year saw unprecedented monsoon rain that flooded the city and put the authorities on the defensive. The monsoon rains tested the Government machinery to its optimum level forcing even the Chief Minister to hit the streets to reassure the common man. As Delhiites had put behind the harsh memories of the monsoon rain, a severe winter set in plummeting the temperatures way below the normal. Foggy conditions engulfed the Capital throwing normal life out of gear and exposing the citizens of the Capital to severe chilly conditions. It was also a year that saw judgement being pronounced in the infamous Naina Sahani murder case where the former youth Congress leader, Sushil Sharma, was sentenced to death.

This year, the cable TV subscribers, especially those in South Delhi, saw themselves being subjected to blackmail at the hands of cable operators with the introduction of the controversial Conditional Access System (CAS) regime. Although, supposed to have been implemented in July this year, the implementation of CAS was postponed twice in South Delhi and ultimately put into action when directed by the Delhi High Court. However, the consumer's harassment did not end and they were left at the mercy of the cable operators and broadcasters due to indifferent attitude of the Government agencies.