Cong may play regularisation card again to win Delhi polls

Five years ago, when the Congress was facing an anti-incumbency wave and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was almost certain to return to power, the ruling party played what experts called a masterstroke. Atul Mathur reports.

Five years ago, when the Congress was facing an anti-incumbency wave and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was almost certain to return to power, the ruling party played what experts called a masterstroke.

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Just ahead of the assembly elections, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit got her party president Sonia Gandhi to distribute 'provisional regularisation certificates' to 1,218 unauthorised colonies. The move won Sheila government sympathies of more than 50 lakh population living in the illegal colonies. The move paid handsomely as the Congress won a comfortable majority, completing a power hat-trick in Delhi.

Now seeking to win an unprecedented fourth term in 2013, the Congress government is likely to repeat its time-tested formula. Sources said the Sheila Dikshit government is now contemplating distributing regularisation certificates to 895 colonies which were legalised in September last year.

According to sources, the Congress government believes that regularising 895 colonies is one of their biggest achievements and the party must cash in on it. "It is one of the trickiest issues and distribution of provisional certificates ahead of the last assembly elections could have backfired if we had failed to make any headway. We must celebrate the achievement," said a Congress leader.

Sources said the Delhi government has already spent more than R2,000 crore on infrastructure development and providing basic amenities in recently-regularised colonies. Along with distribution of regularisation certificates, the Congress government may also come out with a detailed list of development works it carried out in these colonies.

With the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party all prepared to corner the Congress on the issues of high power and water tariffs, corruption and inflation, the ruling party workers believe distribution of certificates may trump their opponents' campaign.

Sources also said that the government is likely to give ownership certificates to people living in resettlement colonies.

Poll strategy

The Delhi Congress reviewed preparations for the assembly polls slated in November. At the first meeting of the newly-appointed executive committee on Monday, AICC in-charge of Delhi Shakeel Ahmed stressed on the need to strengthen the support base at the grassroots level.

DPCC chief JP Aggarwal emphasised the need for highlighting various welfare programmes of the Centre and Delhi governments.