The Bharatiya Janata Party will contest the municipal polls without projecting any face and will seek votes on policy and governance. We will end this blame-game on sanitation, road infrastructure, education and health issues at municipal levels” said Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari in an exclusive interview with The Pioneer on Friday.
“National president Amit Shah is going to address booth level workers on Saturday at Ramlila Maidan and he will discuss the issue of clubbing all three municipal corporations with the Public Works Department (PWD) to remove bottlenecks in development of roads”, Tiwari said.
“We feel that if the municipal corporations and PWD are put together, the sanitation, development and upkeep of roads across the national Capital will improve manifold,” he added.
“Policy is our face and this time we will try to convey to the people of Delhi that we will remove all the cobwebs that come in the way of synchronised functioning of civic agencies. We want to do away with the multiplicity of authorities as that impinged upon developmental works,” said Tiwari.
Tiwari also attacked former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal for introducing Mid-Day Meals in the schools.
“Initial schooling has been reserved up to Mid-Day Meal scheme whereas the primary focus should be on quality education,” said Tiwari.
Talking about good governance, the BJP State president said that municipal corporation should be kept away from politics as it is the nodal agency for maintaining cleanliness. “Affairs which are related to cleanliness, health and high-quality schooling at the primary level in MCD wards should not be politicised,” said Tiwari.
When asked about the BJP’s performance in all the three corporations as the party has been in power for the last ten years, Tiwari said that the BJP is not happy with the municipal employees’ performance.
“The BJP wants to convey that their competition is not with Aam Adami Party (AAP) or Congress but our struggle is with ourselves. MCDs in Delhi should improve and good governance should be perceptible to all,” he added.
“But it was the question of the survival of sanitation workers too since the AAP Government did not pay Rs 9,000 crore that was to be paid to the corporations,” Tiwari said when asked about the garbage collection issues.
Tiwari was euphoric that the BJP’s Delhi unit has been inundated with thousands of application forms for party tickets to contest municipal elections. “More than 33,000 bio-datas have been submitted at the party office and this is expected to rise manifold,” he said.
When asked about the selection criteria, Tiwari said that the party will give tickets to applicants who are contributing to the party at the grassroot level and do not have a criminal record.
“We are giving tickets to new faces this time because we want youth into our scheme of things and the senior members of the party will keep guiding them,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP has framed strategy with the help of Booth level Workers.
Tiwari said that the consecutive political victories of the BJP is the result of honest implementation of the public welfare schemes of Prime Minister Narender Modi Government. “The difficulties being faced by the people of Delhi due to the stalled development works is the result of the evil deeds and bad policies of the AAP Government,” he said.
He further said that the forthcoming civic elections is an opportunity for the people to give their mandate against the Government which has neglected the development and busy in its political expansion at the cost of public exchequer and I am confident that the people will give a reasonable verdict.
Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, BJP National Organisation General Secretary Ramlal, all the MPs of Delhi and senior party leaders, office bearers will interact with the Booth level Workers on March 19. “This is a team of 373 senior workers for Booth Management which has formed a large organisation of 5 Booth Managers for each booth termed as Panch Parmeshwar,” Tiwari said.
“In addition a team of Conveners of Booth Management in all the 280 Mandals is working through the Mahila Morcha and Yuva Morcha and 2,663 urban heads comprising of 5 polling booths. All these are senior party workers at District level,” he added further.