In a major push to infrastructure ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle for the BJP by inaugurating developmental projects worth of Rs 4500 crore including Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats at Ashok Vihar, Sarojini Nagar government quarters, World Trade centre and new DU campuses and college. With this, the PM Modi has launched his model against the Kejriwal’s modelm putting aside doubts about who would would lead it. Winning Delhi is crucial for the BJP, which has now been out of power in the Capital for more than 25 years.
Taking a jibe at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal without naming him, PM Modi said he could have built a Sheesh Mahal for himself but chose to prioritise the people. “Mai bhi koi ‘sheeshmahal’ bana sakta that. Lekin mere liye toh mere desh wasiyon ko pucca ghar mile, yahi ek sapna tha (I could have also built a sheeshmahal, but for me, it was a dream that my countrymen should get permanent houses). The country knows it well that Modi never built a home for himself but has built more than 4 crore houses for the poor,” PM Modi said. The Prime Minister also coined a slogan ‘AAPda ko hatana hai, BJP ko lana hai”.
The Prime Minister said that by keeping Anna Hazare at the front, few ‘kattar beimaan’ (bigoted dishonest) people have pushed the national capital towards the ‘aapda’ (disaster).”These people used to talk about Delhi’s development...Ye AAP, ye ‘aapda’, Delhi par aayi hai’, and hence the people of Delhi has waged a war against ‘aapda’. Voters of Delhi have made up their minds to free Delhi from this ‘aapda’,” the PM said while speaking at the event at Ashok Vihar’s Ramlila Ground. Giving a call for AAP’s defeat, Modi raised the slogan, “‘Aapda’ ko nahi sahenge, badal kar rahenge (we will not tolerate ‘aapda’, we will remove it).”
“Yeh kattar beimaan log… Ek to chori upar se seena zori (These staunchly corrupt people… They steal and then defend themselves brazenly)… Dilli ke log keh rahe hain, aapda ki nahin sahenge, badal ke rahenge (The people of Delhi are saying they will not tolerate this disaster, but will usher in change),” PM Modi said.
He accused the AAP of being involved in scams across sectors including education and health.
In a sharp response to Modi’s accusation that Aam Aadmi Party is an ‘aapda’ (crisis) for Delhi Kejriwal said the BJP-led Centre has not done any development work in Delhi or else, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not have had to spend 39 minutes of his 43-minute speech cursing the people of the capital and the government they elected with the largest mandate. “PM Modi gave a speech of 43 minutes today. For about 39 minutes he abused people of Delhi and the elected government. Had Modi government performed in ten years, he would not have needed to abuse people of Delhi,” Kejriwal said. He pointed, “It took BJP as much time to lay foundation stones for three colleges as it took AAP to build 22,000 classrooms, three new universities, six university campuses, and 11 new vocational colleges.”
“PM Modi for abusing people of Delhi and the majority government elected by them. AAP chief claimed that PM Modi would not need to abuse him, had his government performed in ten years of power at the Centre since 2014,” he added.
In a veiled attack on AAP which “used Anna Hazare as its face” to come to power, PM Modi accused the party of having become “a disaster” for the people of Delhi, and urged voters to take steps to “liberate” themselves from the incumbent “Aapda”, or disastrous, government.
“If highways are being built in the capital and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has been able to make houses for the poor, it is because “aapda” does not have much role in these sectors, he added. He said 2025 would bring many new possibilities for India, asserting that the country had become a symbol of political and economic stability in the world.India will rise to become a big manufacturing hub in the new year in which new records in the agriculture sector and women-led development will be registered as well, he said.
The prime minister asserted India’s global standing and image would also be strengthened in 2025.
Earlier, taking to his X handle, PM Modi earlier said this was an important day for Delhi’s development. “Today is an important day for Delhi’s development. At a programme in Ashok Vihar, will be inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for a wide range of development works which will boost ‘Ease of Living’ for the people of Delhi,” he said. PM Modi handed over the keys to eligible beneficiaries of EWS flats at Swabhiman Apartments in the Ashok Vihar area.
The rally in Ashok Vihar is strategically planned to target the AAP’s stronghold among slum dwellers in areas like Wazirpur, Model Town, and Shalimar Bagh. These neighbourhoods, part of the Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituency, have previously seen AAP dominate despite being a BJP bastion in the past. According to estimates, roughly 20 lakh people live in Delhi’s slums. Though they were traditionally Congress supporters, especially during the tenure of ex-CM Sheila Dikshit, the AAP won them over during the 2013 and 2015 assembly elections
After Ashok Vihar, PM Modi’s second rally will be held on January 5 at Rohini’s Japanese Park. The event will include the foundation stone laying of a metro project connecting Rithala to rural areas, addressing a longstanding demand of rural voters. The rally will focus on consolidating support in rural regions where AAP has performed strongly in past elections. The Prime Minister is expected to inaugurate Section 4 of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor on Sunday which connects Sahibabad to New Ashok Nagar. Currently, the 42km functional portion of the RRTS is entirely located in Uttar Pradesh.
Sources in the party said the rally, planned for 29 December, was postponed after former PM Manmohan Singh died on 26 December. According to the BJP’s internal surveys, Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) currently has a ‘slight’ edge. However, the BJP believes the trend will start to reverse once Modi kickstarts the campaign for Delhi.Apart from that, the Delhi BJP unit has been organising ‘pravas (night stay)’ involving BJP leaders and workers staying in slums and interacting with people to understand their problems.
