With the Delhi assembly elections less than two weeks away, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday pledged to eradicate unemployment in the national capital within five years if re-elected. In a video message, the former Delhi chief minister stressed that creating jobs for the youth would be his top priority. “Our team is drafting a detailed plan to address the issue of unemployment,” Kejriwal said. The AAP faces a tight contest from the BJP this polls.
Highlighting past successes, the AAP Chief revealed that his team had facilitated employment for 12 lakh youth during the pandemic and is now working on a comprehensive plan to secure jobs for Delhi’s children. Arvind Kejriwal also reaffirmed his commitment to bolstering key sectors like education, health, and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, terming it another political gimmick, South Delhi BJP MP and Chairman of the BJP Assembly election manifesto committee, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said the Kejriwal government had to provide 20 lakh jobs in 5 years, but they have not even given 20 jobs. “On the contrary, Kejriwal took away the jobs of 10 thousand volunteers of Civil Defence. Guest teachers and contractual employees working in Delhi government departments were also not made permanent,” said Bidhuri adding that the people of Delhi has realised that Kejriwal is unfit to rule the national capital.
On the other hand, touting his government’s achievements in Punjab, Kejriwal claimed that the AAP government there provided 48,000 government jobs and facilitated over three lakh private-sector jobs for youth in less than two years. “We know how to create employment, and our intentions are honest. With the people’s support, we will eliminate unemployment in Delhi in the next five years,” he stated confidently. The BJP said it was shocking that Kejriwal, instead of offering his vision for the middle class, has tried to mislead them by posing "populist demands" before the Centre. Kejriwal said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Delhi government had created employment opportunities for 12 lakh youth. He also cited the performance of the AAP government in Punjab, saying that 48,000 government jobs and three lakh employments in the private sector were given in the state in just two years. “We are capable of providing employment to youth, and our intentions are clear,” he said.
Kejriwal announced the seven-point charter aimed at addressing the concerns of the middle class and demanded the BJP-led Centre to address them. Delhi has recorded a sharp drop in unemployment rate—from 6.3 percent in 2020-21 to 2.1 percent in 2023-24, data from its Economic Survey 2023-24 as well as the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 shows.
Unemployment rate is defined as the number of people unemployed as a percentage of the total workforce. In Delhi, 2.1 percent of the total workforce in the 15 to 59 years was unemployed in 2023-24, which is lower than the national average of 3.5 percent. As far as joblessness among youth (15-29 years age group) is concerned, Delhi has recorded an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent in 2023-24, a drop from 6.1 percent in the previous year. PLFS data shows that a little over half (56.1%) of Delhi’s workforce comprises the regular-waged, while 37.8% are self-employed and 6.1% are casual labour.
