Experience vs exuberance: Northeast Delhi is set for an interesting contest

Three-time CM Sheila Dikshit takes on BJP's Manoj Tiwari in a constituency where migrant votes matter

It’s 4.30 pm and there is commotion on Pusta Road. The stretch is completely choked and a vehicle is honking, irking people around. On closer examination, it turns out to be a vehicle bearing a Congress sticker. The SUV, along with hundreds of others stuck in traffic, is made to wait for about 15 minutes, before it makes its way out. “Partywala hai toh helicopter mein jao na! Horn bajake kya hoga? (If you are from a political party, use a helicopter. Why honk?)” an angry auto driver shouts back.

Pusta Road has a special place in the minds of those who cross it daily. Not only is the junction in Northeast Delhi extremely important — connecting the Eastern Peripheral Expressway and Uttar Pradesh with the capital — it is also a stretch where people are forced to spend anything between 10 minutes and an hour, owing to unending traffic snarls.

Deeper into the constituency, near Ghonda, chants of “Sheila Dikshit zindabad” can be heard from loudspeakers. The former three-time chief minister, and the Congress candidate from the seat, is holding a rally there. As Dikshit arrives, local Congress leaders remind people that she is the one who reshaped the national capital.

Helped on to the stage by people, Dikshit, the oldest candidate in the fray in Delhi, starts well. “Remember,” she tells people, “Delhi never gives a party that has not worked a second chance. You did not give the BJP a second chance ... you need to do the same again. To bring back glory in Delhi, you must reinstate faith in the Congress. Don’t waste votes for film stars and singers ... Which party developed Delhi the most?”

“Congress, Congress,” the response from the crowd is euphoric.

Then, she slows down, slightly. Her party cadres are continuously telling people that the Signature Bridge was her brainchild, but the signature Sheila speech is missing. The razor sharp attacks are absent. Not once does she mention Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

“Sheila ji has done her job. She has been a great chief minister, but at 81, she is not getting any younger. It must be tough for her to keep pace with the schedule,” says a Congress worker at the rally, quickly adding, “naam mat likhiye”.

On whether she is confident of a win, Dikshit tells Business Standard, “I will. The people are with me.”

Dikshit is pitted against Delhi BJP President and incumbent MP Manoj Tiwari and the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) Dilip Pandey. The campaigns of the three parties are visibly different. At a rally in Burari, home to a large number of Purvanchalis, who form Tiwari’s main vote base, the actor-turned-politician sticks to the template: Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Flanked by Haryanvi singer Sapna Choudhary, Tiwari keeps it short. “Gali galion mein ye mahurat hai, paanch saal aur Modi ki zarurat hai.” Chants of “Modi, Modi” take over. Tiwari has done his job. Flowers are showered on him and he leaves for another rally in Malka Ganj.

At the Seemapuri jhuggi, about 20 km from Burari, people are disappointed. “They come to seek votes, but look at our condition. This jhuggi is over 50 years old and it is yet to be regularised. There is no proper drinking water supply to many houses, no sewers. Now, Bangladeshis have come and settled in the next slum, E-44. It is very risky here,” says Mohammad Gani, 60, who claims to be a senior member of the Northeast district Congress.

A look around the shanties in the Jain Mandir jhuggi reveals the penury of some of its residents. Razia Begum has been staying in her tiny room for 20 years with her husband and has two children, both in their teens. A corner of the room is used as a kitchen, and there is a water tap. On elections, Razia says, “We are very poor. Who will come to us? I have not seen anyone even during elections. Maybe they came, I don’t know.”

The AAP campaigns in these areas have focused on X, a poll plank that got it success earlier. But, the attacks are visible. At a rally in Badarpur for candidate Dilip Pandey, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thunders, “See what work your MP has done here. Vote for ‘kaam’ and not for ‘naam’.” Close to 11 pm, the traffic is thinner, but remnants of the multiple rallies are visible on the roads. Inside vehicles, repeated jingles of “Ab hoga NYAY” and “Phir se ek baar Modi Sarkar” on the radio continue to remind you of the battle to be fought on May 12.