Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not leaving any stone unturned to reach out to the people in its bid to win the Delhi Assembly elections. It has come out with a novel idea to connect with the middle class by advertising on the fare meters of Three-Wheeled Scooter (TSR) rickshaws.
It was the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that used banners on TSRs to promote the party and its convener Arvind Kejriwal. Now the Delhi BJP has decided to reach out to maximum number of people through its campaign Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on auto fare meters of autorickshaws in the national Capital. Taking a leaf out of AAP strategy, the Delhi BJP leaders have been raising their voices for autorickshaw drivers in an apparent attempt to win over a crucial votebank in the city.
Top sources in the BJP said that these autorickshaws will be part of the BJP election campaign in Delhi. The party has earlier relaxed the norms to allow e-rickshaws in the national Capital, which were not regulated till date. The party has decided to campaign for Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan on autorickshaw fare meters.
According to sources, this is a unique method to approach maximum number of people. For political parties, these one lakh autorickshaw drivers have become a major votebank.Autorickshaw drivers, often accused of fleecing commuters, played a crucial role in the victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in the December 2013 Assembly elections. BJP’s attempt to appease autorickshaw drivers by taking up their cause with lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung seems an effort aimed at weaning them off AAP. There are over one lakh autorickshaws operational in Delhi.
The Supreme Court has also directed the Government to issue 45,000 new permits. AAP leaders too are roping in autorickshaws across the Capital to start campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls.
During the lok Sabha elections in May this year, Delhi BJP batted for autorickshaw drivers and demanded lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung solve all the problems of TSR drivers and announced an anti-corruption helpline on which they could complain against bribe seekers.
The party held a rally in the support of e-rickshaws at Ramlila Maidan where Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari made a slew of announcements to help e-rickshaw owners. Delhi High Court later clamped a ban on the plying of e-rickshaws as it raised serious questions pertaining to the safety and security of commuters. The ban continues despite the Union Surface Transport Ministry issuing guidelines for the registration. BJP leaders say they are committed to the cause of e-rickshaw drivers.