NEW DELHI: Few can predict voter behaviour with any certainty and political analysts and psephologists will not disagree. The capital has shown quite resolutely over the years that it can live with the Centre-state dichotomy and all issues – howsoever stark and emotive – may not be of consequence to all individuals. A cumulative effect of all the issues can set a narrative but overriding factors can come into play when one casts the vote. As the city heads for possibly the most bitterly fought elections in its history, TOI looks at the issues that could weigh on the voters’ mind.
Freebies
If there is one issue that AAP is counting on for swaying the electorate, it is that of freebies or ‘revdis’, depending on which side of the political divide you stand. The bureaucracy has been raising the red flag, warning about depletion of the exchequer, but freebies have in a way been the centrepiece of the Arvind Kejriwal govt’s welfare measures. These include free power for households consuming up to 200 units per month, free water up to 20,000 litres and free bus rides for women. The govt also provides free pilgrimage for the elderly, financial aid to students and healthcare services through mohalla clinics and hospitals. It has also promised Rs 1,000 per month under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, with plans to eventually increase it to Rs 2,100 if the party returns to power. The underprivileged, bulwark of AAP’s support base, see this bouquet of freebies as their lifeline, a fact being gradually acknowledged by the opposition. Congress has promised Rs 2,500 for women and BJP may be mulling such a scheme.
Corruption
BJP’s biggest success in trying to make a comeback in the capital has been that it has gradually chipped away at the image of AAP and its founder, Arvind Kejriwal, as being “kattar imandar”. Honesty and transparency have been the calling cards of AAP, a party forged in the crucible of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption agitation. The exigencies of running a govt has forced the party to make ideological compromises, but the plethora of cases slapped on AAP’s ministers and other functionaries has dented its image. The alleged excise policy scam landed their leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, in jail and they were later let out on bail. The LG, too, has ordered a series of inquiries. Earlier, former health minister Satyendar Jain was arrested on money laundering charges. AAP has countered with its own charge of “persecution”. However, the allegedly extravagant expenditure on renovating the CM’s house has given BJP and Congress an opportunity to target AAP with charges of reckless financial spending and even graft. “Sheesh Mahal” is both a taunt and a potent image that AAP will have to counter convincingly.
Pollution
Delhi has the dubious distinction of being one of the cities in the world which have the worst air quality. It has been gasping every winter, surviving on emergency measures but unable to come up with long-term solutions because of a virtual policy paralysis. Its poisonous air contains high levels of PM2.5 and PM10, the primary concerns, besides SOx, NOx and Ozone. People expected an AAP govt in Punjab to eradicate stubble burning but that hope has been belied. Those who have the resources are relocating but most have no choice. Children on inhalers is now a common sight. Meanwhile, former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s promise in 2021 to clean the Yamuna by February 2025 and take a dip in it remains unfulfilled. The river’s most polluted stretch, running for over 20km through Delhi, was found to have the worst quality metrics in four years during December 2024, with faecal coliform levels reaching 8.4 million units as against a permissible limit of 2500 units. In fact, the foam on its surface has become the photographer’s wicked delight.
Infrastructure
Some attribute it to AAP’s misgovernance and others to LG’s interference over the past few years which stalled developmental work, but no one disputes the fact that the civic infrastructure in Delhi has suffered degradation like never before. In fact, the condition of roads is a daily reminder to people of the poor quality of life in the city. Despite repeated promises by the state govt of a ‘pothole-free city’, including a recent October announcement by chief minister Atishi, roads remain bumpy. In 2023, the then CM Arvind Kejriwal had introduced a comprehensive decade-long road maintenance initiative which was opposed by MCD, also under AAP, citing jurisdiction over road sanitation. The project remains unimplemented. A June 2023 amendment to Mukhyamantri Sadak Punarnirman Yojana guidelines, which enabled councillors, along with MLAs and urban development minister to allocate road development funds, has shown no tangible improvements. The decision to transfer major drainage systems to the irrigation and flood control department last year, aimed at preventing severe flooding which erodes the road surface, remains incomplete.
Law And Order
A rise in incidents of gang wars and gangsters targeting businessmen and even small traders for extortion – often brazenly shooting at business outlets – has caused unease in the city. Lawrence Bishnoi, Himanshu Bhau, Kapil Nandu and other criminals have suddenly acquired notoriety. The Centre intervened, with Union home minister Amit Shah sending a stern message to Delhi Police in November last year. The cops have also failed to curb the frequent bomb threats sent to city schools, which have disrupted the academic calendar. Hospitals and IGI Airport were also targeted but the menacing calls have disturbed children and the parents the most.
#Delhi #elections #talking #points #dictate #voter #choice #India #News #Times #India
