E-Paper
Congress deploys top guns from south India to woo Delhi voters from Kerala, TN
New Delhi: Unable to match the high-pitched campaign by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress has decided to woo Delhi voters
New Delhi: Unable to match the high-pitched campaign by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress has decided to woo Delhi voters who have migrated from different parts of the country over the years.
The party has deployed former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala in constituencies where the Malayalee voters are in considerable number.
Similarly, senior leaders from Tamil Nadu such as CD Meyyappan are helping party candidates in constituencies where the voters from his state are in good number.
Unofficial estimates peg the south Indian voter population in Delhi at 1.2 million with sizeable presence in RK Puram, New Delhi, Mehrauli, Wazirpur, Tri Nagar, Badli, Mayur Vihar, Dilshad Garden, RK Puram, Rohini, Kalkaji, Dwarka, Uttam Nagar and Vikaspuri.
Meyyappan has composed a song in Tamil in which he seeks votes for Congress candidates.
Also, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh addressed an election meeting in Hari Nagar and a road show in Kalkaji on Monday to woo the Punjabi voters.
Among the Punjabi-dominated assembly constituencies in Delhi are Punjabi Bagh, Tilak Nagar, Janak Puri, Vikas Puri, Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Old Rajinder Nagar, New Rajinder Nagar, Moti Nagar, Rajauri Garden, Naraina, Mayapuri, Hari Nagar, Subhash Nagar, Maharani Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Malviya Nagar, Kalkaji and Shahdara.
Similarly, Purvanchalis are in significant numbers in Adarsh Nagar, Badarpur, Badli, Burari, Kundali, Karawal Nagar, Kirari, Laxmi Nagar, Mustafabad, Patparganj, Palam, Rithala, Trilokpuri, Sangam Vihar, Uttam Nagar and Vikaspuri.
The Punjabis and the Purvanchalis constitute 70% of about 1.5 crore voters in Delhi.
With three days left for campaigning to end in Delhi, the Congress has not been able to match the high-voltage campaigning by the AAP and the BJP which have gone all guns blazing.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will jointly address election rallies in Sangam Vihar and Jangpura on Tuesday. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was admitted to Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Sunday for routine check-up, is unlikely to address a public meeting.
