Three days before north-west Delhi’s Bawana is scheduled to go to by-polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday intensified its campaign to reclaim the Assembly constituency.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Deputy Manish Sisodia and Minister Kailash Gahlot met and promised the residents better development.
“I have been looking at the state of roads and infrastructure in the area and have seen the inconvenience people have been facing. I have already told officials to start work and repair the roads at the earliest,” Mr. Kejriwal told a gathering at Shahbad Dairy, assuring the residents that all the by-lanes would be tarred after the polls.
The Bawana seat fell vacant in March after AAP MLA Ved Prakash jumped ship to the BJP just before the municipal elections in April. Mr. Prakash is now contesting the seat on behalf of the BJP. Former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member Ramchandra is fighting on the AAP ticket, while the Congress has fielded Surender Kumar, who was the Bawana MLA from 1998 till 2013.
Test of popularity
“You all voted for the candidate we had pitched last time with the confidence that he will bring a change in your lives. But he chose to ignore the plight of the people here and moved to the BJP for personal gains,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sisodia met people around Kanjhawala, Rajiv Nagar, Begum Vihar and Karala Road.
“Education and health have been the primary focus of our government and I am sure when you can look around, you see how the condition of government schools has improved for your children,” Mr. Sisodia said.
For the AAP, the upcoming by-polls will be a test to prove their popularity among Delhiites.
After a dismal show in the Punjab and Goa Assembly elections, the Rajouri Garden by-polls, and the civic elections in April, the party has pressed into service all its resources to secure the Bawana seat. AAP’s Delhi convenor Gopal Rai is in-charge of the campaign.
Party leaders said Mr. Ramchandra’s image will help the AAP win the constituency.
“He is a known social worker in Bawana. He lives in an unauthorised colony, and knows the living conditions and problems of the people,” a senior AAP leader said.
The entry of two former BJP leaders, Gugan Singh Ranga and Narayan Singh, into the AAP fold may also help strengthen the campaign, he added.