With Assembly polls inching closer, several students of Delhi University and other higher educational institutions, residing in North Campus, have opined that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has failed on various fronts in the last 10 years and there should BJP’s “double-engine” government for better development and welfare of the people of national capital.

Though these students’ are hoping for change in power in Delhi, some still have reposed their faith on AAP asserting that in the run-up to the Assembly elections, the BJP and Congress announced galore of “freebies”, while the ruling dispensation has already delivered what it had promised in last polls.

They were also of the opinion that Delhi would witness a fierce contest between the AAP and BJP. The Congress, which has announced “five guarantees” including Rs 2,500 per month to every woman under the ‘Pyari Didi Yojana’, and eyeing to return to power highlighting the works done by the previous Sheila Dikshit-led government in Capital, did not find a mention.

Navya Malhotra, a first-time voter, highlighted various issues including pollution and sanitation, which she has claimed the AAP government has totally failed to address in the last 10 years. She said the BJP should be given a chance this election.

Talking to the Pioneer, the 18-year-old said, “I feel this time BJP should come to power in Delhi. The AAP has been saying that they were not able to do the work for the people because Arvind Kejriwal and his team members were put behind bars and Delhi doesn’t have statehood. But, 10 years is a very long period. They didn’t do much.”

“Kejriwal had talked about the slum areas, especially JJ colony, that he will take care of such places. But, he failed to take any appropriate steps for waste management. It has become such a big problem. He hasn’t taken care of this,” she said.

Referring to pollution, Navya said,” The AAP government has completely failed. Because of pollution, students’ we were not able to go to schools, colleges. Our time was wasted. So it is definitely important to give a chance to the BJP. Some people are following Narendra Modi because he is saving Hindutva, while some people are following him, because genuinely they cannot see any better party than BJP.”

Referring to BJP’s manifesto, she said, “In the BJP’s manifesto, they are giving those things that Kejriwal has offered to people. But there are also different things like giving Rs 2,1000 to pregnant women, so the rural/lower sections will get monetary help. Kejriwal had also talked about monetary help, but overall development didn’t work out quite well.”

Mentioning the law and order situation, Navya said, “As a first time female voter, I feel safety in Delhi is a prominent issue, because I still can’t freely roam out of my house at night. Even if I go downstairs I have to be quite vigilant. The AAP has installed cameras. Are they functional ? Women safety is very prime. Delhi which has been given the title of ‘rape capital’, if that can be changed by a ‘double-engine’ government BJP, then why not ‘Har Har Modi’. “

Notably, the law and order of Delhi comes under the Union Home Ministry.

She also accused the incumbent AAP MLA from Timarpur Dilip Pandey for not doing enough to mitigate the issues concerning the people of the constituency and said the BJP should be given a chance.

The AAP this time has fielded turncoat Surinder Pal Singh (Bitto), BJP Surya Prakash and Congress Lokendra Chaudhary.

Echoing similar sentiments, Aksh, a B Pharmacy student and a resident of Vijay Nagar Single Storey in North Campus, said, “I will probably support BJP, because that is the mood of Delhi I feel right now. There are only two major parties-AAP and BJP. There is least mention of Congress in Delhi.”

Asserting that the middle class is really troubled under the AAP, he said, “The middle class is really troubled under the AAP. They feel their money is not properly used.”

Stating that the condition of Delhi overall has deteriorated, Aksh said, “There are traffic problems, and a poor drainage system. AAP had promised about better schools etc, but these things have not really happened. Kejriwal has increased the trend of freebies. But the thing is freebies won’t help in the development of the country. “

“There is no chance to give votes to AAP. We had already given them a chance, trusted them, and thought they would do something different, but they did nothing,” he said. Expressing a similar opinion, Prajwal, a law graduate, said, “If we look into the last two decade, there was not very good governance in Delhi. There should be a change this time and I feel this time the BJP will form the government.”

Stating that in democracy, there should be a change after every five years, he said, “There should be a replacement of AAP in Delhi. AAP is in power in Delhi because of the freebies. The BJP has been in power at the Centre since 2014, and India has emerged as a global player.”

Raees, a student of the Delhi University, however, opined that AAP will retain the power in Delhi, “Right now, we can notice that it is AAP versus BJP right now in Delhi. It will be a close contest this time. But I feel AAP will only come back to power.”

Asserting that AAP’s basic vote bank is women voters, he said, “The way they are giving freebies to women, it will help them to gain votes.”