In battle for Delhi, why 360 villages mark a new front between AAP, BJP

While the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP person held sway implicit astir of Delhi’s villages successful the Assembly polls, a bulk of them person gone the BJP’s mode successful the parliamentary polls.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, erstwhile the BJP swept the superior again by bagging each 7 seats, the enactment garnered implicit 60% of the ballot stock successful respective Assembly segments with a sizeable agrarian colonisation specified arsenic Shakur Basti, Burari, Narela, Rithala, Mundka, Kirari, Nangloi Jat, Matiala, Najafgarh, Palam and Badarpur.

In the February 2020 Assembly polls, the AAP returned to powerfulness successful Delhi for the 3rd consecutive time, winning 62 seats arsenic against the BJP’s eight, with the Congress again failing to unfastened its account.

The outreach to the Union Territory’s agrarian voters began successful aboriginal December past twelvemonth with Lt Governor V K Saxena launching the Dilli Gramoday Abhiyan. According to Saxena, who heads the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), this programme was aimed astatine “comprehensive development” of Delhi’s villages with implicit Rs 800 crore earmarked for assorted projects, ranging from the installation of CCTVs and streetlights to the improvement of hospitals, schools, h2o bodies, cremation grounds, libraries, sewage attraction plants and assemblage centres.

A week later, Delhi Development Minister Gopal Rai announced that the Village Development Board, which helium heads, had fixed its motion to projects worthy Rs 1,000 crore to amended indispensable amenities successful the capital’s villages.

Over the past fewer months, caller autobus routes were announced by the AAP authorities for areas specified arsenic Najafgarh too the announcement of schemes worthy Rs 100 crore for the transportation of “essential services” to agrarian Delhi. The AAP besides started inducting turncoats with a agrarian base, specified arsenic ex-BJP MLA Brahm Singh Tanwar from Chattarpur, into its fold.

After chairing a Village Development Board gathering successful October, Rai said, “In the gathering 100 plans were approved to guarantee the improvement of villages, focusing connected constructing and repairing captious infrastructure, including attack roads, ponds, assemblage centres, parks, crematoriums, sports grounds, gymnasiums, drainage structures, chaupals, banquet halls, and different indispensable facilities.”

The BJP MPs successful Delhi person besides stepped up their bid to woo the villagers. South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri attended a Mahapanchayat successful his constituency earlier this week.

“Delhi’s villages person ever been the instauration of its improvement and they contributed importantly to the BJP’s triumph present successful the Lok Sabha elections,” Bidhuri said, alleging that “In the villages too, the temper is the aforesaid arsenic successful the remainder of Delhi – that Kejriwal’s enactment volition not instrumentality to power. People are aggravated with the information of roads, pollution, deficiency of h2o and a big of different issues.”

For its part, the Congress has planned that its ongoing “Dilli Nyay Yatra”, led by its metropolis president Devender Yadav, would criss-cross the agrarian belts during its past 2 legs successful the coming days.

Visiting a radical of protesting Delhi farmers successful September, Yadav called for the L-G ’s involution to code their demands for a hike successful ellipse rates, accusing some the BJP-ruled Centre and the AAP authorities of “ignoring” them.

Across the villages, determination has been a refrain among galore residents, seeking amended improvement and amenities arsenic good arsenic higher compensation successful lawsuit of acquisition of their land. They besides kick that astir of the improvement promises made by some the BJP and AAP dispensations person not been fulfilled truthful far.

“There has been nary improvement successful Delhi villages not conscionable implicit the past 5 years, but since 1994,” alleged Than Singh Yadav, the caput of the Delhi Panchayat Sangh. The cardinal government’s SVAMITVA scheme, which ensures streamlining of onshore records, has not been implemented successful Delhi’s villages, helium said.

“The regularisation of colonies is besides focused connected municipality areas. When it comes to Delhi villages, the non-extension of ‘Lal Dora’ (demarcation of agrarian areas) is simply a large issue, posing problems for villagers applying for loans,” helium said, adding that the ellipse rates of agrarian onshore person not been revised.

Paras Tyagi, who is associated with the Centre for Youth, Culture, Law & Environment, charged that the deficiency of improvement successful Delhi’s villages was pushing its residents to displacement to the bordering states similar Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

“The maestro plans of the DDA notation that a abstracted colony improvement program should beryllium made, but bash not specify which authorization would instrumentality up this task. This conscionable leads to a blasted crippled betwixt 3 authorities — DDA, MCD and Delhi government’s Development department, with each 3 shying distant from responsibility,” helium said.

“There are nary parks successful these villages, nary assemblage centres, nary due drainage, nary colleges, nary healthcare… Many radical person started moving to UP and Haryana due to the fact that they supply amended facilities,” helium claimed.

Some colony groups assertion they person decided to “boycott” the Assembly polls. The person of a colony radical Pradhan Palam 360 Khap, Chaudhary Surender Solanki, said, “Ab ki baar chunav ka bahishkaar (this time, we would boycott the elections). We volition not enactment successful the polls unless our demands are met. We raised 12 to 13 main issues, of which lone 3 person seen immoderate advancement truthful far. The ellipse rates person not been increased, starring to little onshore values hurting farmers and villagers. Without resolving them, however tin the authorities expect america to vote?”