NEW DELHI: Fresh from its clean sweep in the national capital, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun its preparations for the forthcoming assembly elections from Balmiki Basti, the city’s oldest slum, at Wazirabad village in Northeast Delhi’s Timarpur.

High on confidence, the BJP has already set sights on dislodging the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from power. And, in a statement of intent, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, who was recently crowned the party’s MP from North-East Delhi, arrived at the slum at 9 pm on Wednesday and interacted with residents. The slum is home to around 350 to 400 families. He stayed the night at the slum.

“This was his (Tiwari’s) 20th visit to a slum. It has become a regular practice for him. He often spends nights with slum dwellers, breaking bread with them and lending a patient ear to their concerns. His presence gives them hope that their problems would be resolved. It sends out a clear message to our opponents, in the run-up to the assembly elections, that we care for all sections of the society, including Dalits and the poor,” Neelkant Bakshi, media co-convener, Delhi BJP, told this newspaper.

Claiming that he had taken huge strides in resolving issues pertaining to water and electricity in these areas, Bakshi said Tiwari made public toilets free of cost for people. “He is a leader who has his ears to the ground and doesn’t hesitate to reach out to people. His methods ensure that officers remain on their toes, municipal work gets done and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) delivers water to all households,” Bakshi said.
Tiwari said Kejriwal has made himself an “enemy” of Delhi by not implementing the Centre’s welfare schemes. “Lakhs of people are receiving free medical treatment up to `5 lakh under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme. However, Kejriwal chose not to implement it in Delhi. People living in jhuggi-bastis (slums) could have derived a lot of benefits from this scheme. But this government is blind to the plight of the poor,” Tiwari said.