New Delhi

Gujjars make it a three-way contest

NEW DELHI: A three-cornered fight is what poll pundits predict in the Tughlakabad constituency, what with three Gujjar leaders with the same sub-caste and hailing from the same village fighting against each other.

The sitting MLA from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Ramesh Bidhuri, is locked in a close contest with Congress candidate Shish Pal Singh, who was the area MLA for 10 years before being defeated by the former in 2003 Assembly elections. Mr. Shish Pal had contested as an Independent in that year.

The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Sahi Ram, a sitting MCD Councillor of the area, who is capable of making a dent in their vote base. So much so that Mr. Shish Pal concedes that his “main rival” is the BSP and not the BJP candidate.

“Sahi Ram has been a Councillor earlier as well, but he got no work done. In fact, he is known more for his corrupt ways. People are upset with him for letting them down,” charges the Congress candidate, who was denied a ticket by the party during the last elections as he was allegedly involved in a land scam that was also taken up by the Central Bureau of Investigation. He then fought as an independent candidate, only to be defeated by Mr. Bidhuri, who himself had lost elections from the area in 1993 and 1998.

Accusing the BJP MLA of “ignoring” his constituency, Mr. Shish Pal alleged that no work had been done in the last five years. “There are no roads, no cleanliness. The BJP has done nothing for the upkeep of the area. Water is such a big problem. I want to construct a tank with a capacity of 20 million gallons per day,” says the Congress candidate.

“During my tenure, everyone had ration cards, but now there are many without this basic necessity. Moreover, the ration office has been shifted from Okhla Industrial Area to Meethapur, which is quite far. We will get the office back to its original place to avoid any inconvenience,” he adds.

On the other hand, relying on his “good work” over the past five years, Mr. Bidhuri is certain of doing an encore despite the delimitation process snatching away Sangam Vihar, an area where he “worked hard to ensure pucca roads, electricity and primary schools”.

“Perhaps the party felt that I am capable of repeating the same experiment in Tughlakabad. The two new wards in my area, Harkesh Nagar and Tehkhand, have no roads, no electricity, no water. These villages are in a bad shape. Another major issue is that the labourers are not being paid their minimum wages,” he says.

Talking about his Congress rival, the BJP leader says he is more qualified than him and that the South Delhi electorate is aware of his “good deeds”.

Some local residents do laud the development work carried out by Mr. Bidhuri. “The Congress has only given us inflation in the last 10 years. Mr. Bidhuri gave us motorable roads. The power situation has also improved,” observed Rajesh Kumar, a shopkeeper at Prahladpur.

Another resident, Jagdish Rai, said Mr. Bidhuri had installed tube-wells in the area and was in the forefront during the anti-sealing drive against illegal commercial establishments.

Dismissing any competition from BSP, Mr. Bidhuri asserts: “The BSP can only win the posts of Councillors. It is not that strong in the area to win Assembly elections. In fact, the anti-incumbency wave against Sahi Ram will benefit me as he has done little for the jhuggi cluster dwellers.”

However, there are some residents who are confident that the BSP candidate could spring a surprise.

“In our area, people are only talking about Sahi Ram. That’s because he has always been there for the poor. He pays attention to our grievances. The Jatav community of Tughlakabad is likely to go for BSP because Mayawati is from that community,” said Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Lal Kuan.

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