Presenting a predominantly rural picture in the otherwise urban landscape of Delhi, the constituency of Bawana has become the seat of a high stakes electoral battle for the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and BJP. The reserved constituency will see by-elections on August 23, with the poll holding immense relevance for all the three main parties in contention.
Campaigning came to an end on Monday in Bawana, which is one of the largest constituencies in Delhi. If the AAP is hoping to break the sequence of defeats by registering a win in the by-poll, the BJP wants to follow up on its victory in the municipal elections by adding Bawana to its kitty, and the Congress is desperate for a win to have something to show for its efforts to make a comeback in Delhi.
The constituency, which lies on the outskirts of Delhi, and which comprises both villages, replete with fields, and unauthorised colonies as well as some pockets of middle class colonies developed by the Delhi Development Authority, has around three lakh voters.
Bawana MLA Ved Prakash, who had won on the AAP ticket in 2015, resigned in March this year to join the BJP, thus necessitating the by-election. He has been fielded by the BJP in this election.
The AAP's candidate is Ramchandra, a party volunteer from Bawana. The Congress is banking on the seasoned Surendra Kumar, who has been elected MLA thrice from the constituency. Bawana used to be a Congress bastion, till the AAP upset it to win the seat by 50,000 votes in 2015.
Aware of the significance of the by-election, all three parties have campaigned intensely in the constituency. Top leaders from the AAP, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, have campaigned in Bawana. Rural Development Minister in the Kejriwal government and Delhi convenor of the AAP, Gopal Rai, has been virtually camping in the constituency.
The Congress has fielded its senior leaders to campaign in Bawana, including AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, UPCC chief Raj Babbar and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat.
Addressing election meetings in Bawana, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken attacked both the AAP, which rules the state, and the BJP, which is in power in the three municipal corporations, charging them with not living up to the promises that they made. “Both the BJP and the AAP have made tall promises with regard to working for the poor. But both have failed to do anything,” Maken said.
In his election speeches, Kejriwal reminded people that only his party can get their work done as it is in power. “The AAP is in power in Delhi. So only we can solve your problems. Neither the Congress nor the BJP can get anything done,” he said.
Delhi MP Parvesh Verma, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, is election in-charge for the BJP in Bawana. Among the BJP's campaigners have been union ministers Sanjeev Balyan and Chaudhary Birender Singh, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and Delhi MP Udit Raj. “The Modi rath is unstoppable. The choice is between the good work done by Modiji, and the deceit and fraud of the Congress and the AAP,” Tiwari said at an election meeting.
The AAP has 65 MLAs in the 70-member state Assembly at present, with the BJP having four members. The Congress had drawn a nil in the 2015 election.
