The predominantly rural suburb of Badarpur, a South-East Delhi Assembly constituency, is set for a three-cornered contest after emergence of Aam Aadmi Party for upcoming Assembly polls on February 7.
BJP sitting MlA Rambir Singh Bidhuri is contesting against Congress strongman Ram Singh Netaji, who had lost election in 2013. AAP has fielded Narayan Dutt Sharma. Badarpur’s political history is replete with clash of personalities and less of political parties the political elite represent. On the parameter of education and health the constituency has only two Government-run schools but no hospital, residents say.
“The political fight has never been between the parties but these two candidates —Ram Singh Netaji and Rambir Singh Bidhuri — who have switched parties often,” voters across the constituency say. In other other words, Badarpur constituency has a tradition that it does not repeat MlAs for two consecutive terms. This means that Badarpur’s vote has always gone to either Ram Singh Netaji, who had joined Congress five years ago or to Rambir Singh Bidhuri, who is now in BJP.
Ram Singh Netaji was earlier in Bahujan Samaj Party before switching over to the Congress while Bidhuri was in the Nationalist Congress Party before joining the saffron party. Bidhuri won the seat in 1993, 2003 and 2013. He contested the elections in 1998 and 2008 as well on a Congress ticket, but lost to Netaji both times. In 2013, he defeated Congress candidate Ram Singh Netaji by a margin of over 14,000 votes. The emergence of AAP in Delhi has made electoral battle triangular.
Badarpur constituency, which is a Gujjar-dominated constituency, is divided into four municipal wards — Jaitpur, Mithapur, Badarpur and Molarband. The constituency covers areas like Badarpur village, Molarband village, Gautam Puri, Bilaspur Camp, Mohan Baba Nagar, Hari Nagar, Saurabh Vihar, Jaitpur Extension, Tajpur village, DDA Flats Colony and lakhpat Colony, among others.
The constituency has a sizeable number of Gujjar community votes who have a history of voting on caste lines. lack of basic civic amenities like — water, sewer, open drains and roads are main issues in the rural and suburban areas. There is absence of water supply through pipelines and people have to depend upon erratic supply through tankers. Besides, lack of transport system, women’s safety and law and order are the other major issues in the constituency.
BJP candidate Rambir Singh Bidhuri may face tough fight this time due to his poor health and AAP factor. Netaji may also put up a good fight despite an anti-Congress disposition. Netaji holds an enviable sway over the slum residents in the area. Bidhuri has played a foremost role in exposing Netaji’s connection with the builder lobby, which was instrumental in setting up unauthorised colonies in the area. Bidhuri is banking on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi this time. Bidhuri expressed hope that BJP will perform well in the Assembly polls. “We are fighting elections on development and issues, particularly in Badarpur,” Bidhuri said.
On the other hand AAP candidate is new entrant in this area and has stepped up campaign in the unauthorised colonies and JJ clusters of the constituency. The AAP candidate is banking on Arvind Kejriwal’s magnetism and focusing on corruption in authorised colonies, promises which Narendra Modi failed to fulfil in the past eight months. Netaji and AAP candidate Narayan Dutt Sharma were not available for comments.
The voters of Badarpur, in general, may not vote only for the chief ministerial candidate of the political parties but also on the capacity of the candidates to deliver development for them.
Sohan Singh, a resident of Mohan Baba Nagar, wishes to witness better development in the area, but believes that the seat will go to either Netaji or Bidhuri. “In this part of the city, there is no active politics. The fight has never been between the parties, but these two candidates who have switched loyalties often. People here are tired of the current MlA. He has not even got the drains covered. Bidhuri had done some good work. I may vote for him again.”
Interestingly, most were wary of talking about the current MlA and some hinted that they might use the newly-introduced Right to Reject option. “NOTA is good option for voters. I may use it this time. The Congress does not have any hold here, while some pockets, including the Gujjar community, are inclined towards the BJP,” said a resident of Molarband Extension, requesting anonymity.
Bilaspur Camp, a slum colony, has had Netaji visiting them only during elections. Residents complained that the legislator has started some work of re-laying roads and sewer lines only a month ago. The area does not have facilities such as proper toilets, Government schools and medical dispensaries in the vicinity.