Start-ups, hospitals: Delhi BJP’s picks list out pre-poll vows

All seven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha candidates on Monday listed their 100-day priorities if they are voted to power

From addressing traffic congestion in the Capital to focussing on education, infrastructure, unauthorised colonies and health — all seven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha candidates on Monday listed their 100-day priorities if they are voted to power.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva (in green) with party’s Lok Sabha candidates (from left) Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Manoj Tiwari, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Harsh Malhotra and Praveen Khandelwal at a press conference at the party office at Pant Marg in the Capital on Monday. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

During a joint press conference, presided over by Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva at the party office, the candidates also asserted that they would win all the seven seats in the city with an even higher margin as compared to 2019.

“The development work is an ongoing process, with its pace picking up under the (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi government. However, the (chief minister) Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has deceived people by lying about the education and health care expansion. So, BJP MPs will prioritise their development work after their victories and ensure that Delhi University campuses are also established in east and west Delhi to provide more facilities to students,” said Sachdeva.

The Aam Aadmi Party, however, hit back and asked the BJP to issue a white paper on the work done by the party’s MPs in Delhi over the last five years.

Polling for the seven seats in Delhi will be held on May 25, the Election Commission of India announced on Saturday. The BJP has announced its candidates for all seven seats. The Congress and the AAP are contesting on three and four seats respectively. While the AAP has announced its nominees for the four seats, the Congress is yet to announce its contenders.

The Delhi BJP chief said that efforts will be made to open Centre-run hospitals in North West and East Delhi parliamentary constituencies to provide better facilities to people. “While the Centre has done a lot of work to improve Delhi’s road infrastructure over the past 10 years, traffic remains a major problem in some areas. All our MPs will actively work on traffic management,” Sachdeva said.

To be sure, the 100-day promise is aside of the Lok Sabha election manifesto that the Delhi BJP will present for the seven seats. The Delhi BJP manifesto will be separate from the national BJP manifesto, which will focus on overall promises in the country, party leaders who asked not to be named said.

Outlining his agenda for the first 100 days, BJP’s South Delhi Lok Sabha candidate Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said, “Regulating the extended population outside the Lal Dora of the villages, construction of the Master Plan road to eliminate severe traffic situation in Sangam Vihar, Deoli and Chhatarpur assembly constituencies and regularising 69 unauthorised colonies by providing them with property rights will be among the 100 days priority for me,” said Bidhuri.

Bansuri Swaraj, the candidate from New Delhi, said she will work to establish a start-up hub in her constituency to create new employment opportunities for the youth and promote women self-help groups. “I will continue the de-sealing of shops in local shopping centres and other commercial areas as a priority in the first month. I will also work on creating legal pathways to implement schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and Atal Pension Yojana in Delhi. I will also try to implement a Master Plan to address traffic issues around Dhaula Kuan,” said Swaraj, the daughter of former Union minister Sushma Swaraj.

The Chandni Chowk candidate, Praveen Khandelwal, said he will establish a cultural conservation centre in his constituency to preserve Chandni Chowk’s heritage. “Initiating work on beautification proposals for Chandni Chowk, Khari Baoli, Chawri Bazaar, Sadar Bazaar, and beautification proposals for markets such as Model Town Kamla Nagar will be among my priorities,” said Khandelwal.

North East Delhi candidate Manoj Tiwari — the only sitting MP the BJP has repeated in the city — said that in the last 10 years, major development work has been completed in his constituency, including the Signature Bridge, and the Metro’s expansion.

“In the first 100 days of getting elected, I will complete construction work on the Yamuna riverfront. Initiating plans for a lake park and playground on 33 acres of land in Mukundpur-Burari, construction work for the central school buildings in Khajuri and Burari after dedicating them to students, establishing an open study centre in Dilshad Garden for students are among my priorities,” said Tiwari.

BJP’s East Delhi candidate Harsh Malhotra said he will try to get an East Delhi campus of Delhi University opened in his constituency while West Delhi candidate Kamaljeet Sehrawat said she will get a west Delhi campus of DU.

Hitting back at these vows, AAP Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj asked the BJP to issue a white paper on the functioning of its seven MPs in Delhi in the last 10 years before seeking votes of the Delhiites in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Bharadwaj said the BJP-led central government did nothing to help rid Delhi of traffic congestion, and despite having control over the police the law and order, the situation deteriorated.

“In the last 1.5 years, nearly 3 lakh people have been rendered homeless. Did even a single MP of the BJP stand up to stop the bulldozers that carried out demolition. No, they didn’t, but our MLAs reached the demolition sites and fought with the authorities,” he said.

“In 2017-18, thousands of shops, showrooms and small businesses were shut, where were these MPs? Whether it was Defence Colony, Greater Kailash-I, Greater Kailash-II, South Extension or Rajindra Nagar shops were sealed. What did these 7 MPs of the BJP do to stop that?” Bharadwaj added.