Supporters from various parts of Gandhi Nagar assembly constituency came in large numbers to Congress candidate from East Delhi Arvinder Singh Lovely’s ancestral home in East Azad Nagar Thursday.
The narrow lanes of the colony saw hectic activity as people kept moving in and out of Lovely’s two-storeyed house, which is now being used as his party office, resulting in snarls in the neighbourhood.
Sitting on the floor, along with his supporters on the first floor of the house, Lovely listened intently to supporters as they narrated incidences and listed out things he has done for the Gandhi Nagar constituency during his 15-year tenure the area MLA and a minister in Sheila Dikshit’s government.
Illyas, a resident of Shastri Park, said, “For years, our request for a graveyard had fallen on deaf years. But it was Lovely who helped us get space for a graveyard. He also opened schools so that our children don’t have to travel long distances for education.”
Addressing a gathering, Lovely said this Lok Sabha election is about “fighting for trans-Yamuna’s pride” and reminded people of the “stepmotherly treatment” meted out to the people of trans-Yamuna areas by the two other major parties — the BJP and the AAP.
Attacking the BJP and AAP for fielding “outsiders”, Lovely said, “Gautam Gambhir (BJP’s candidate) was to contest from New Delhi, but he agreed to contest from East instead. He would have contested from any constituency — South, West, Chandni Chowk. Chunav ladne ka shauk hai ( His interest is to just contest the polls).”
{{/usCountry}}Attacking the BJP and AAP for fielding “outsiders”, Lovely said, “Gautam Gambhir (BJP’s candidate) was to contest from New Delhi, but he agreed to contest from East instead. He would have contested from any constituency — South, West, Chandni Chowk. Chunav ladne ka shauk hai ( His interest is to just contest the polls).”
{{/usCountry}}He added, “AAP too has fielded an outsider. We don’t know where she lives. They are big people and we are small people as we live in East Delhi. It is a shame that the two parties couldn’t find a single candidate from trans-Yamuna areas, where one-third of Delhi’s population lives. But Congress president Rahul Gandhi had made it clear that only a person will contest from East.”
Speaking about the work to “transform” East Delhi done by the Congress government during its 15-year stint in Delhi, he reminded supporters of the “stepmotherly treatment” meted out to the trans-Yamuna areas. “You remember the time when we would have power cuts for days. There was no water. But after the Congress came to power, we fixed all these problems. We formed the Trans-Yamuna Development Board which carried out massive infrastructure development in the area and transformed the area. But it is now defunct,” Lovely, who was accompanied by his wife and son, said.
He asked people from the Gandhi Nagar constituency to reach out to people, their relatives living in other parts of the East Delhi parliamentary constituency. “This elections is about fight for trans-Yamuna’s pride,” he said amid slogans of “chowkidar chor hai” and “phir se Congress”.