Sandeep Dikshit has been elected Member of Parliament from the East Delhi Parliamentary constituency (EDPC) twice consecutively since 2004. His personal simplicity combined with his determination to deliver and his stature as a thinking politician has been well recognised both within his parliamentary constituency as well as the 14th and 15th lok Sabha. His forceful speech during the discussion on lokpal Bill was hailed as one of the best and analytical speeches by a lawmaker. Dikshit spoke to Pramod Kumar Singh on hordes of issues involving the East Delhi lok Sabha seat. He talked about the traffic, developmental work done during his last two terms and the challenges ahead.
How do you rate your performance as an MPIJ
I have worked hard and nurtured East Delhi and the developmental works done by me are there for everyone to see. Streamlining the traffic in East Delhi was my priority. Many roads were laid and re-laid, flyovers, underpasses and foot over-bridges were built on the roads to facilitate the movement of vehicles. Major bottlenecks were studied and road alignments were changed for the smooth flow of traffic. My other priority was the extension of Metro projects to connect Jamia, Okhla, IP Extension, Mayur Vihar Phase-3, Ghazipur. An adventure park was to come out in Mayur Vijar Phase-3. Three professional colleges have been set up and the campus of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University is being set up in Shahdara. National Design school too is coming up and that would help youngsters in getting admissions to further their careers. Despite all-round development in my constituency, there is scope for further development.
Why do you think that people should send you for the 3rd termIJ
I am seeking votes on the basis of my work and achievements as the MP from East Delhi Parliamentary constituency. Anybody can compare East Delhi before 2004 to the present in 2014. The landscape has changed. The works completed on my initiative are in the public domain.
The East Delhi constituency — a densely populated lok Sabha constituency with a large concentration of Jhuggi Jhopri clusters, resettlement colonies and unauthorised colonies, urban villages, as well as societies/flats/apartments earlier considered one of the least developed, owing to lack of planning, haphazard infrastructure and scattered resources. I have worked tirelessly with the State and Central Governments to ensure improvement in roads, water and electricity supply, educational and health institutions. As a result, East Delhi has seen rapid transformation and a surge in infrastructure and basic civic amenities in the last ten years. During 2009-14, I have spent over 95 per cent of my MPlAD (Member of Parliament local Area Development) funds for 153 works.
Do you think that you can weather the strong ant-incumbency moodIJ
My workers are enthused and I am getting response I my constituency as more people have started to join during my padyatras in different areas. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is definitely factor but we are very hopeful to beat them this time around. Parliamentary elections are different from Assembly elections as national issues are involved. My electorate are well aware about the all-round development that has taken place in the East Delhi areas. Also the AAP has been on the decline as the people have seen through their game that borders on accusations and nothing else.