Powerful political establishments, high-end shopping destinations, some of the most expensive residential addresses in the world and a number of tourist attractions characterise the posh New Delhi parliamentary constituency as much its villages, JJ colonies and slums. Some of these slums exist since Independence and are still craving for basic amenities like potable water and power connection. As many as 17 resettlement camps exist in the New Delhi Assembly constituency alone; two of them located behind India’s most prominent residential addresses — the Prime Minister’s residence and the residence of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. Taking up these issues is BJP candidate Meenakshi lekhi against two-time sitting MP Ajay Maken of the Congress. The two are being challenged by Aam Aadmi Party’s Ashish Khetan. Till recently, the New Delhi constituency had been the stronghold of the BJP and the Congress but in the 2013 Assembly polls, the debutant AAP trounced the two parties winning seven seats while BJP could manage to win only three seats.
The New Delhi constituency, which boasts of several political heavyweights as its representative in the Parliament, has failed to get rid of its miseries despite several high profile leaders representing the seat in the Parliament. The prestige involved with the seat is evident with the fact that almost all MPs from New Delhi have either made it to the Union Cabinet or went on to become the Prime Minister. However, the ground realities are in stark contrast to the cosmopolitan character of the constituency.
Stinking drains, narrow bylanes and unhygienic condition speak volumes of the pitiable life the inhabitants of these slums are forced to live for want of amenities. While Tughlak Road Camp behind the residence of Rahul Gandhi has nearly 500 jhuggis, the Race Course Camp behind the PM residence houses 3,000-4,000 jhuggis. The biggest JJ cluster in the constituency is the Kathputli Colony where over 20,000 people have been living for the last 50 years. The other prominent JJ colonies in the New Delhi constituency are located in areas like RK Puram, Naraina, Baljit Nagar, Inderpuri, Kirti Nagar Industrial Area and Jakhira Chara Mandi among others. Kathputli Colony is home to over 20,000 people of nearly 3,200 families who have been in a state of neglect for over five decades. Apart from the national issues of corruption, price rise, women safety and national security; water shortage, power and sanitation remains the local issues in the New Delhi constituency. As residents of these colonies rued, no public representative cared to address these issues despite making promises in every election. “We were expecting ownership of the piece of land where we have been living for several years. The Government had promises us flats at the same place where jhuggis exist but not a single flat has been allotted to us,” said Ravinder, a resident of Tughlak Camp. Some others also complained that no effort was ever made by any leader or Government to provide them with employment.
In addition to these slums, the New Delhi constituency is also dominated by over three dozen villages where inflated water and power tariff and absence of water and sewage pipelines are major issues. These include Munirka, Mohammadpur, Jiya Sarai, Shahpur Jat, Zamrudpur, Hauz Rani, Masjid Moth, Khirki Village and Kotla Mubarakpur, among others. Besides, there are 18 dhobi ghats in the area where the perennial issues of subsidy on water and power remain the key issues. The occupants of these dhobi ghats have also been demanding permanent accommodation at the same place. Some of these dhobi ghats include Chaman Ghat at Sunehri Bagh Road, Darbhanga Ghat near Krishna Menon Marg, Munda Ghat and South Avenue Ghat, among others. The constituency is dominated by Government employees belonging to various States, Punjabi migrants and middle class voters. The constituency comprises North and South Blocks, Janpath, NDMC areas, South Extension, lodhi Colony, BK Dutt Colony, Safdarjung Enclave, Rouse Avenue, President House, Chitragupta Road, Gole Dakkhana, Connaught Place, Panchkuiyan Road, some parts of Minto Road, RBI quarters and Sarojini Nagar.