Delhi: Punjabi vote bank back with BJP after favouring AAP for 10 years

West Delhi has 12 seats dominated by the Punjabi colonisation – Janakpuri, Madipur, Hari Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Tilak Nagar, Tri Nagar, Karol Bagh, Rajinder Nagar, Patel Nagar, Moti Nagar, Vikaspuri and Shalimar Bagh. While the 4 Punjabi-dominated seats successful East Delhi are Gandhi Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Shahdara and Vishwas Nagar, South Delhi’s Jangpura, Kasturba Nagar, Malviya Nagar and GK, besides person important Punjabi population.

In 2015 and 2020 Assembly polls, BJP had won lone 2 of these seats, Gandhi Nagar and Vishwas Nagar, which person a sizeable beingness of some Punjabi and Sikh populations.

Except Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar and Tilak Nagar, the BJP won each the seats this clip with a borderline of much than 10,000 votes. Only Hari Nagar saw the borderline dip beneath 10,000, though it was inactive supra 5,000.

In the past 2 elections, BJP had failed to triumph adjacent of 1 of these 10 seats from West Delhi, wherever the bulk of the Punjabi colonisation beryllium to the mediate people and precocious mediate people – considered to beryllium the halfway ballot banks of the BJP.

While successful 2015 and 2020, these seats had gone to the AAP, previously, the Congress had won from these constituencies.

While Punjabis are settled crossed Delhi, the occidental portion of the metropolis has a important Punjabi colonisation – astir 55%-60%, including Sikhs.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a elder BJP person said, “Punjabis are usually pro-BJP due to the fact that successful Delhi, astir Punjabi families travel from bully fiscal backgrounds… a bully fig of them are besides traders, Punjabi Khatris. The traders person ever supported the BJP… The non-trader Punjabis successful the metropolis besides travel from well-to-do families. Hence, Punjabi-dominated areas went with the mediate people that supported the BJP this time.”

On wherefore the BJP managed to get the Punjabi votes this time, different elder BJP person gave 2 reasons. “First, the mediate people was fed up with AAP government’s one-sided schemes, which lone benefitted a peculiar section. They were not getting immoderate benefits of these schemes, particularly the escaped electricity. The mediate people was besides disappointed implicit mediocre infrastructure improvement crossed the city. Water crisis, postulation issues, damaged roads, contamination and deficiency of jobs affected this colonisation due to the fact that they besides wage taxes.”

“Corruption charges against AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, successful respect to the liquor policy, Sheesh Mahal… each these added up and the BJP was palmy successful convincing the mediate people that the AAP authorities had done thing successful the past 10 years, but committing corruption and warring with the L-G and the Centre,” said the person added.

“Second, Sikhs are an influential community… 3-4 % of Sikh voters tin easy power 4%-5% much voters… Also, Sikhs and Punjabis were wounded arsenic contempt being successful powerfulness for 2 consecutive terms, AAP authorities did not person immoderate Punjabi oregon Sikh curate successful the Cabinet,” said the leader.

The BJP had tasked Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, who belongs to a Punjabi exile family, and Punjabi MP from East Delhi, Harsh Malhotra – besides Minister of Road and Transport and MoS Corporate Affairs – to woo Punjabi voters up of the polls. Also, the Union Cabinet had different Sikh look successful Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri. “This is wherefore this time, the Punjabis voted for the BJP. Further, AAP was facing anti-incumbency…,” said the leader, adding that the caller BJP authorities is apt to person a Punjabi look successful the Cabinet.

A elder BJP person said that the Union Budget announcing that individuals earning up to Rs 12 lakh annually volition nary longer beryllium required to wage income taxation if they take the caller taxation authorities besides made the mediate people ballot for the BJP.

Senior BJP person Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the MLA-elect from Rajouri Garden, said: “West Delhi has 60% Punjabi population… this portion of the metropolis faces h2o situation each summer… The roads are successful a mediocre condition, determination is deficiency of cleanliness and monolithic postulation jams… The AAP authorities kept blaming the L-G and Centre, saying BJP is stopping works. This irked the people…”

He added that Punjabis were besides wounded due to the fact that “AAP did not beforehand Punjabi connection successful schools, hired Punjabi connection teachers and promoted Punjabi Academy”.

There were different factors excessively that helped BJP woo the Punjabi voters, said enactment leaders.

The BJP successful its manifesto made respective promises to the traders, including opening of sealed shops wrong six months. The different promises included converting each leasehold properties of L&DO (Land and Development Office) to freehold, establishing a dedicated Delhi Trader Welfare Board, extending the validity of concern licenses from 3 to 5 years and processing a Delhi Retail Trade Policy to simplifying rules.

Another large committedness the enactment made was to trim energy tariffs for commercialized establishments. Further, the BJP promised to supply a monthly allowance of Rs 20,000 to granthis successful gurdwaras and summation monthly pension of 1984 riots widows from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000.