As campaigning for February 8 Assembly polls came to an end on Thursday, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said his party will spring a surprise in Delhi, as it did in neighbouring Haryana recently.
“The polls are just two days away. During the Haryana elections also, some exit polls gave us only two seats but we won 31 instead. This is going to happen again, this time, in Delhi,” said Surjewala, while addressing a press conference at the party’s Delhi unit headquarters on the last day of canvassing.
Ahead of the polls, Surjewala , who is the All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson, also attacked both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) terming them “Jhooton Ki Sarkar” (government of liars) and their leaders as “Jhoothon Ke Sardar” (heads of liars).
Alleging that the BJP and the AAP have turned Delhi into a “gas chamber”, he said the Congress under former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit had reduced carbon emissions by 60% by converting one crore diesel-run public vehicles into CNG.
He concluded by saying that now people have to choose if they want “Dil walon ki sarkar” (government with a heart), which the Congress can provide or the AAP that wants “dangal” (fight) or the BJP, which wants “dange” (riots). “Whatever development was done in Delhi has been under Dikshit’s 15-year-rule and people of Delhi remember that,” said Surjewala.
{{/usCountry}}He concluded by saying that now people have to choose if they want “Dil walon ki sarkar” (government with a heart), which the Congress can provide or the AAP that wants “dangal” (fight) or the BJP, which wants “dange” (riots). “Whatever development was done in Delhi has been under Dikshit’s 15-year-rule and people of Delhi remember that,” said Surjewala.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress party has, by and large, kept development done under former CM Sheila Dikshit’s 15-year-rule as its poll plank this poll season. Only in the last leg of campaign, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the BJP urging people not to vote for a party that has been diverting attention from real issues of development and youth unemployment to “religious polarisation”.
Later, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who addressed two public meetings on the last two days, in her address stuck to local issues attacking AAP on poor roads, health and education infrastructure.
While AAP and the BJP ran high decibel campaigns, the Congress woke up a little late in the race with its ‘star campaigners’ coming in the picture only in the last week. The party has kept its campaign low-profile.
Senior AICC leaders said that the party has been going the “old school” way. “Elections in Delhi have never been about speeches based on religion or hurling abuse at the rivals. Also, it has not been so high-pitched. It is about showcasing your work,” said a senior Congress leader.
Despite complaints by some candidates of not getting the “required support” during campaigns, the party’s Delhi in-charge PC Chacko said that the campaigns in Delhi were “up to the mark”.
“The BJP overdid it because they are scared and know that they do not have anything to offer to the people of Delhi. We began our campaigns at the right time and highlighted the right issues,” Chacko said.
Out of a list of 40 senior leaders, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, All India Mahila Congress general secretary Nagma, MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor, Haryana leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Shatrughan Sinha were at the forefront rallying for party candidates.
Rahul Gandhi made an appearance in the last two days addressing four public meetings across the city —Jangpura, Sangam Vihar, Kondli and Matia Mahal. Former PM Manmohan Singh addressed a public meeting at west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar.
AICC leaders said that though the party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi was supposed to have addressed a ‘maha-rally’ on February 5, the plan was dropped because of her ill health.
Tejaswi Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) --- that will be making its debut in Delhi polls in alliance with Congress -- campaigned for four of his party candidates in Palam, Uttam Nagar, Kirari and Burari.
Delhi BJP co-in-charge Tarun Chugh, who is also the convener of the party’s election management committee, said, “The Congress has been attacking the PM and making personal comments about him. As for calling our government ‘jhoota’ is concerned, I want to tell them that we have delivered on our promises.”
The AAP did not respond to requests for a comment.