Interview/ Sandeep Dikshit, Congress leader
SANDEEP DIKSHIT is back on familiar territory. He had managed poll campaigns for his mother, Sheila Dikshit, in the New Delhi seat when she was chief minister representing the constituency in the assembly. He spoke to THE WEEK during his door-to-door campaign in RK Ashram Lane, sharing his views about the problems faced by voters in Delhi’s most developed locality. The Delhi electorate, he says, is missing the Sheila Dikshit days after 11 years of the Aam Aadmi Party rule.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q/ Why are you contesting from New Delhi after representing East Delhi in the Lok Sabha?
A/ I was looking at East Delhi, but the party decided I should fight from New Delhi, since I have an emotional connection with this constituency because of my mother. I was involved in organising her elections here twice, in 1998 and 2003. I know the pulse of the place, and I have been critiquing the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government, using facts and figures, to expose their bogus claims about development. The party felt I will be able to put up a formidable challenge to Kejriwal.
Q/ What are the top issues in this constituency?
A/ People point out that nothing substantive has happened here after Sheila Dikshit’s period. Problems get sorted out when the local MLA visits, but Kejriwal has not been coming here. The sewage systems in the slums have not changed. There are areas where electricity bills are exorbitant and subsidies don’t apply. Several structures built during Dikshit’s tenure are crumbling.
Q/ What are your promises?
A/ People from different walks of life live here. There are residential areas for safai karamcharis and government employees, and offices, private colonies, markets and clusters. We have developed a separate manifesto for each, with simple, small and achievable solutions.
For example, some shops have a problem with lease agreements not getting renewed by the New Delhi Municipal Council. The safai karamcharis and type-1 officers face problems with muster rolls, which is a big source of employment but has been stopped by the NDMC. Despite Kejriwal being an NDMC member, nothing has been done about it.
Q/ Is your mother’s track record―consecutive wins since 1998, followed by a massive defeat in 2013―an advantage or disadvantage?
A/ I see three kinds of voters here. One, those who remember her work in New Delhi, and Delhi at large. Two, youngsters who have been hearing about her work, but might have been too young to remember it. Three, women voters and other sections of society who seem to be fascinated with the Rs2,100 cash transfer (promised by the AAP as part of its Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana) and may not be as concerned about development. We don’t know which way they will go. It is very disturbing that people are ready to vote because of the prospect of cash transfers. It is a kind of bribe, whether given legally or otherwise. People are accepting it with glee.
Q/ Did these cash transfers start with the AAP?
A/ Yes. Welfare measures were there earlier, but there was no such thing as giving something 100 per cent free. We invest money when there is a productive outcome. For example, the Public Distribution System keeps people healthy. Some say Kejriwal is giving free education. Public schools have been giving free education since independence. Schools in several states charged a token fees of 05 to 010 for parents to feel proud about paying for their child’s education. But AAP seems to have destroyed that. They have turned citizens into consumers.
Q/ There have been allegations of voter manipulation.
A/ If a political party has good workers, they can go to the grassroots and check whether the votes are genuine. I am not saying Kejriwal is right or wrong, but if he has made an allegation, the Election Commission must examine it without feeling pressured by the ruling party.
Q/ The polls are seen as a bipolar contest between the BJP and the AAP.
A/ It is because, historically, it has been a bipolar fight. But there have been instances when resurgent parties have given astonishing results. For example, the AAP and the Telugu Desam Party. Last time, there was no mood for the Congress. This time, there is a mood for Sheila ji’s Delhi.