Biggest issue was trust in govt, says Sachdeva

Virendra Sachdeva, who heads the Delhi BJP, was instrumental in securing the party's victory in the assembly elections following a 26-year gap. His leadership saw the party execute a targeted campaign focusing on every day concerns such as roads, water supply, Yamuna clean-up. The Delhi BJP highlighted corruption allegations against AAP, which struck a chord with Delhi voters. Sachdeva is now among a handful of party chiefs who led the state unit to victory in the Delhi elections. These are excerpts from his interview to Abhinav Rajput:
n What was the biggest issue that defined this election?
The biggest issue was trust in the govt. There was rampant corruption, and delivery was zero, either in terms of basic things like providing clean water or making roads. People simultaneously saw that Narendra Modi (central govt) was doing a lot of work in Delhi in the form of expanding the metro, rapid rail and houses for the poor. So, people thought Narendra Modi wanted to make Delhi a world-class city, but AAP govt was not allowing him.
n When you went to people, what were their biggest talking points?
The corruption in the liquor policy and 'Sheesh Mehal' were issues on which people wanted answers from Arvind Kejriwal, but he was not giving the answers. Then there was the issue of air pollution and Yamuna pollution, which he again was not addressing. So, we kept our entire focus on local issues, be it traffic problems, pollution or parking.
n As a backroom boy of the party or strategist, what used to be your routine during elections?
I was involved in micro-strategy. I kept my party workers on alert mode that if there were fake voters, they should flag it. If 'Sheesh Mehal' was our election issue, then I made sure we made a model of it and showed it to people. If we were weak in getting votes in jhuggis, then we worked on it for eight months with party workers going there constantly. They heard their problems and tried to solve them. So, we did things at the micro level.
n Were you anticipating so many seats because everyone was saying it would be a close election with results going either way?
Our focus was on 52 assembly seats, which we won in the Lok Sabha. I thought if the same people were voting for us in the Lok Sabha election, then why were they not voting for us in the Vidhan Sabha? So, by my standard, I am four seats less, and next time we will ensure that we achieve even that.
n You swept West and North West Delhi, winning almost all seats. There was not a single seat from here last time. What changed?
If you see the Lok Sabha results also, we had the maximum vote differences in these regions. We addressed the people in the villages. A lot of development projects worth crores were given to villages through LG (DDA) in these areas. Then, giving a relaxation on taxes for up to Rs 12 lakh in earnings was a major relief for people. The issue of sealing shops was addressed in our manifesto. We said that these would be opened in six months, and we will do it.
n What will be the first three-month agenda of your govt?
In the first meeting of the Vidhan Sabha, we will keep all the 14 CAG reports on the table. SIT for all the corruptions that were in the AAP govt, and the Ayushman scheme will be implemented. Waterlogging points have already been identified, and there is a need to work on them immediately so that it doesn't happen again. Clean drinking water has to be provided to people. Yamuna cleaning will also be a focus area.
n By when can we expect the next CM of Delhi?
This decision has to be taken by the top leadership, and they will take it at the right time. As of now, we have not been given any date. Today, we are holding a meeting with MLAs, which is a courtesy meeting.
n What was the most challenging thing for you as state chief?
When one who has a leader like Narendra Modi and who has everyday people like JP Nadda and Amit Shah guiding him, what challenge does he have?
n Do you think losing MCD was a blessing in disguise?
It is said like that. But if you want to make the city clean, then MCD will have to work. If you have to remove the landfill, then MCD will have to work, and we will work with their cooperation.
n BJP won after 26 years. What did you do differently this time?
This is the collective effort of every ground-level karyakarta, booth worker, every office-bearer. This has been possible due to the work and direction given by the party leadership and then executed by us.