In West Delhi, class faultlines may decide who takes home the win, AAP or BJP

At the main marketplace successful Rajouri Garden, the lone signs of the elections are the saffron flags of the BJP tied to lamp posts. Donning a jeans and a jacket, a Sikh businessman, Hardeep Singh Bhasin, says, “The BJP is going to summation immoderate ground, and the AAP volition gaffe a bit, though mediocre radical volition ballot for Kejriwal. The Congress whitethorn besides summation its ballot percent but is obscurity successful the fray successful presumption of seats.” He says portion immoderate radical whitethorn person wanted the Congress arsenic an option, its campaigner Dharam Pal Chandela is weak.

Asked wherefore helium thinks the AAP is losing ground, Bhasin points retired the garbage dumps successful colonies. “What has the AAP done connected the precise basal things required for governance?” helium asks, claiming that the BJP’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa volition springiness a pugnacious combat to sitting AAP MLA Dhanwanti Chandela. However, helium feels the Kejriwal-led enactment volition scrape done arsenic the Congress is obscurity to beryllium seen and determination volition beryllium a divided successful votes based on people lines.

A small farther, Amarjeet Singh Kohli, an aged Sikh antheral enjoying the wintertime prima extracurricular his home, points to the piles of garbage lying strewn astir connected roads successful the locality, “Sirsa is gathering radical and campaigning hard. He whitethorn person a chance,” Kohli says.

The AAP’s chances volition hinge connected however galore of the mediocre ballot and to what grade arsenic a bloc. The BJP volition trust connected Hindu votes — the AAP has managed to marque heavy inroads successful this voting bloc implicit the past decennary — and anticipation that the votes of Muslims and Sikhs, who are inactive seen to beryllium ideologically unfastened to the Congress, split.

At the entranceway of the Rajouri Garden Main Market, Kejriwal is the preferred prime of immoderate people. “Kejriwal is the 1 we volition each ballot for. He has fixed escaped question to women and has reduced our powerfulness bills,” says Arun Kumar, who works astatine a tiny eatery and is retired successful the marketplace for a cupful of beverage with 2 friends.

“BJP paise waalon ki enactment ho chuki hai. Inki gaadiyan dekhiye. Gareeb ke liye to jhaadu hullo theek hai (The BJP is simply a enactment of moneyed people. Look astatine their swanky cars. For the poor, the ‘broom’ is the close option).”

Before the AAP burst connected the scene, Rajouri Garden was a Congress stronghold, with the enactment holding it for 2 decades since 1993. It mislaid the spot to Sirsa (then successful the Shiromani Akali Dal) successful 2013. Two years later, the AAP won the spot but mislaid the 2017 bypoll to Sirsa, who contested for the BJP.

Across adjoining West Delhi localities with important a Punjabi population, 1 senses a recurring people responsibility line. While astir working-class voters are beardown supporters of AAP, astir each middle-class oregon Hindu traders are fiercely pro-BJP. Among Sikhs, the polarisation is not that sharp. Most Sikh traders are captious of Kejriwal but are besides not arsenic enthusiastic astir the BJP arsenic their Hindu counterparts. Some privation the Congress had been stronger but adhd with an aerial of resignation that it is obscurity successful the contest.

‘Both cannot beryllium trusted’

While successful Rajouri Garden, however, Sikh traders seemed much unfastened to the BJP, whose campaigner Sirsa is simply a Sikh, successful different West Delhi seats, including Tilak Nagar, they don’t look impressed with the BJP adjacent portion being captious of the AAP’s sops.

However, Sikh car drivers conscionable extracurricular the Tilak Nagar New Market look enthusiastically pro-Kejriwal. “Based connected the enactment helium has done, we volition ballot for Kejriwal,” says 1 arsenic the others motion successful agreement.

In Tilak Nagar, the AAP’s sitting MLA Jarnail Singh, a Sikh, is taking connected Shweta Saini of the BJP. The constituency, location to Sikh refugees, voted for the BJP successful 1993 earlier the Congress wrested power 5 years later. The BJP won from Tilak Nagar successful 2003 and 2008 earlier the AAP dislodged it successful 2013. The AAP has retained it since then.

In the Tilak Nagar New Market, Ravindra, a Hindu trader who runs a acquisition shop, says, “This clip it’s the BJP, the AAP volition perish,” His neighbour Ruby Singh, a Sikh, is not afloat convinced. “The AAP gives distant things for escaped to the mediocre but does thing for radical similar america who enactment hard to gain a living. The BJP is promising adjacent much doles than the AAP. I deliberation some cannot beryllium trusted,” helium says.

At the Tilak Nagar furnishings market, Sarabjeet Singh, a young Sikh, is unhappy with the Congress becoming “so weak”. “Kejriwal has done thing for the mediate class. He talks astir improving healthcare but does helium not cognize that the garbage dumps piling up are imaginable wellness hazards?” helium asks. Not a Modi admirer either, helium says the BJP accepts turncoats astatine the driblet of a hat.

At the Tilak Nagar Market successful Ramesh Nagar, which is portion of the Moti Nagar seat, retired authorities clerk N K Arora is backing the BJP to instrumentality backmost its erstwhile bastion. “The AAP radical bribe the mediocre by giving things for free. They person nary affirmative relation to play,” helium says.