Delhi civic body polls: Political batons pass down the family line

All parties maintain that dynasty politics had nothing to with candidate selection, and that they were chosen based on their winnability factor and work ethic

Several candidates from political families, across party lines, have managed to retain their political bastions during the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections this time. Most influential political families from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress sent their members into the fray to continue their influence in their micro strongholds.

AAP supporters celebrate the party’s Delhi MCD election results outside a counting centre at Patel Nagar, in New Delhi, Wednesday. (PTI)

However, all parties maintain that dynasty politics had nothing to do with candidate selection, and that they were chosen based on their winnability factor and work ethic.

From the BJP, for example, Urmila Chawla, wife of former mayor Narendra Chawla won the Janakpuri West seat; three-term MLA from Jungpura Tarvinder Pal Singh Marwah’s son Sardar Arjun Pal Singh Marwah won from Lajpat Nagar; Amit Kharkhari, son of former Najafgarh MLA Ajit Kharkhari, won from Najafgarh.

Tarvinder Pal Singh Marwah, who virtually passed the political baton to his son, thanked the people for having faith in his son’s abilities. “It is an outcome of the trust my son earned while serving the people during the Covid-19 pandemic when the government machinery had collapsed. He had opened a temporary hospital and provided several people with oxygen cylinders and medicines,” Marwah, who was a Congress MLA but switched over to the BJP, said.

Arjun said he wanted to serve the people. “That is what motivated me to contest the election.”

The AAP had also given tickets to multiple candidates from political families. AAP candidate from Chandni Chowk ward Purandeep Sawhney, son of previous Chandni Chowk MLA Prahlad Sawhney, won--the entire family had put run an extensive campaign to ensure that Purandeep is elected the councillor.

“My son has been helping people even though he was not the councillor. He had contested the 2017 MCD polls from Chandni Chowk on a Congress ticket,” said Sawhney.

AAP candidate from Chandni Mahal ward Aaley Muhammad Iqbal, son of AAP MLA from Matia Mahal Shoeb Iqbal, won with over 17,000 votes. In 2017 also, Aaley was elected councillor. AAP leader and former leader of opposition in erstwhile North MCD Rakesh Kumar’s wife Kiran Bala won the Delhi Gate seat.

AAP Delhi convenor Gopal Rai said there was a huge demand for AAP’s tickets because everyone knew that AAP was going to win the MCD polls. “AAP had given all the tickets to its 250 candidates on the basis of a survey to assess the candidates’ winnability factor, popularity and goodwill, and how accessible they have been to people,” Rai said.

The Congress did not lag behind the AAP and the BJP in fielding candidates who belonged to political families. Many of them retained their political strongholds. Former Seelampur MLA Mateen Ahmad’s daughter-in-law Shagufta Chaudhary won from Chauhan Bangar, and former Okhla MLA Asif Mohammad Khan’s daughter Ariba Khan won from the Abu Fazal Enclave ward. Meanwhile, former Nagloi MLA Bijender Singh’s son Mandeep Singh won from Nihal Vihar.

Zubair Ahmad Shagufta Chaudhary’s husband, who won the 2021 by-election from Chauhan Bangar ward, said the party had conducted a survey before the distribution of tickets and the tickets were given out based on the winnability factor. “The ticket was not given only on the basis of belonging to a political family. The people voted for Congress on the basis of the work we have done in the area in the last year. We will continue to carry out more and more development work in the area,” said Zubair Ahmad.

Some of the candidates who belong to political families, however, could not win the election.

Tanvir Aeijaz, associate professor of political science at Ramjas College, said hereditary politicians come into the fray with added advantages such as a certain amount of goodwill and recognition thanks to their families. “They take advantage of the social networks that their family members have established over the years by virtue of being in politics. Most parties succumb to pressure from influential political families and field their family members. It also depends on the kind of legacy that has been created. If a family has done well then candidates from such families tend to benefit but if the families do not have the people’s goodwill, they tend to face the anger of the people. But many people tend to listen to an already popular and recognised name compared to a lesser known or unknown person,” said Aeijaz.