By Saiyed Danish for TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: With Asif Mohammad Khan, the incumbent MLA form Okhla assembly seat, having percolated to the Congress party from his old-flame Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) hoping to benefit from the maelstrom which has been brain-teasing the Muslim voters due to Modi’s declaration as BJP’s PM candidate and that too just before the beginning of the crucial campaigning season, the race for Okhla seat in the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls due in December, which arguably houses the best pack of Muslim intelligentsia in the city, has now heated up.
In fray, are unsurprisingly the local chieftains of the town buckling up to take the plunge. With formal declaration of the candidates from their respective parties still awaited, TwoCircles.net spoke to the residents of Okhla to gauge their mood, in whose name the aspirants of the assembly seat from this South-East border seat of Delhi will be placing their lofty bets, to fathom their thoughts on the coming election.
“Yahan ek paani ke motor se das ghar chalte hain (ten families depend on one water motor for their daily supplies here)”, says Asif (45), a shopkeeper in Okhla Vihar. Sultan, who runs a general store in Okhla Vihar amplifies the complaint, “Sanitary conditions are poor here. The sewages get jammed for days and weeks but nobody comes to redress the problem.”
Sukhdev Vihar, the posh and greener side of the constituency too has its own grievance in the long list of complaints, “It is high time that traffic and parking problems need to solved,” says Varsha Garg, a DU student living in Sukhdev Vihar.
Shahana Anjum (26), a resident of Shaheen Bagh says, “Roads form the crust of our problems,” pointing to regular traffic jams on the main road connecting Jamia Millia Islamia with Kalindi Kunj. The roads should’ve been broadened to prevent congestion and free flow of traffic, she adds.
But most incensed are the people of Batla House, “Five months ago they dug the ground at two steps claiming to build new roads and never came back,” complains Dr. Mujibur Rehman (35), a local social worker. “We will not let any leader even show his ugly face here,” he says angrily.
With most of the issues concerning the daily livelihood of the residents converging at the door steps of Zakir Nagar and Batla House, these two areas have become the hotbeds of public umbrage. “The new water connections are fraud, we would get more water through the old pipes,” complains Nadeem (30), who runs errands for a ration shop in Zakir Nagar.
Another person, Ajmal (35), registers his agitation, “you look around, do you see good schools, or affordable hospitals for us anywhere, all we have around us are these incompetent and poorly equipped government schools in the name of education and Holy Family hospital in the name of healthcare which puts a hole in the pocket more than it heals.”
The Okhla residents claim that they are completely disenchanted by the promises of different leaders and it is difficult for them to name even one person as a harbinger of hope.
But the announcement of Modi as BJP’s PM candidate seems to negatively play here, which came into prominence after the infamous Batla House police shootout. “I may end up voting for Congress just to keep Narendra Modi at bay but that favour should not be mistaken for loyalty to the party. Major incidents of illegal detentions of innocent Muslims happened when the Congress was in the Centre, the government could have prevented them but failed miserably,” says another local resident.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is believed to have been making inroads in the hearts of middle class by its ‘broom’ theme which revolves around cleansing the system from within, Faraz Khan, a graduate student at Jamia Millia Islamia exuberantly says, “I wanted this Congress-BJP monotony broken and now we have a chance to vote for a third option which AAP.”
Asad Ashraf, an activist and a post graduate student in Peace and Resolution Conflict from Jamia Millia Islamia warns, “Since the infamous Batla House encounter, local politicians have tried to chariot the fake-encounter cause for their vested interests but blustery speeches and melodrama over serious issues of cherry-picking of innocent youths will not work this time around.”
Also, the Okhla residents vehemently spoke against an amalgamation of religion and politics. “Inclusive growth is impossible in such type politics,” opines Ali (35), owner of a fast food joint in Ghaffar Manzil area. Speaking about his preference he says, he will vote for a party which is not afraid to take bold decisions, but are beneficial in the long-term.
The cases of harassment and illegal arrests of innocent Muslims and ‘secular’ governments to avoid dozens of small and big scale riots in the U.P, especially in Muzaffarnagar, have caused a section of minority, whose umbilical cords trace back to the state, to revise its allegiance plan.
Ajju (41), lashes out at Congress and says, “My family is voting for BJP, we have to teach Congress a lesson. If Narendra Modi kills in genocide, Congress kills by the weapon of famines and corporate loot.” “I can show you a few more men standing there who have the same views as me,” he adds confidently pointing his fingers towards a tea stall swarmed by locals.
Expressing his disenchantment, Hari Singh (39), a tea shop owner and resident of Abul Fazal enclave, however, reveals “I have not voted for the past two terms,” when asked about his political preferences in the light of the opening Delhi Assembly elections.
Unavailability of drinking water seems to be the crown of all worries. However, demands for better roads, smoother traffic and construction of parking lots are not also far behind. As Batla House encounter issue seems to be all but deflating as a poll plank, the question of basic amenities and infrastructure may lead the stride this time.
Thus while local developmental issues seems to be the main agenda for the voters in making their choice, national issues, particularly those concerning the community also appears to be important factor.