Known for housing Asia’s biggest textile market, the Gandhi Nagar assembly constituency poses an interesting blend of commercial as well as residential areas.
The significance of this Trans-Yamuna constituency was enhanced with the delimitation process of 2008 which added 29 polling stations from Seelampur and Welcome into its pocket. With rail under-bridges, community centres, underground water reservoirs and power grids, there has been extensive development in this region over the past few years. The influence of MlA Arvinder Singh, who has held important positions in the Delhi Government, has even brought Gandhi Nagar on the monorail map and will also have the Metro (Phase III) running through it.
However, with the gradual rise in the density of population, a number of problems have begun to nag residents in its various localities. Congestion, faced by residents due to the co-existence of textile business here, is the primary concern of all. Many even rue about erratic bus services and inadequate parking spaces. “In peak hours, the situation is a mess. There are scores of factories and shops here and then there is at least one or two car in every family, all of which build too much pressure on the roads. The result is chaos and jams,” said an irritated Dharampal Singh, a resident of Kailash Nagar.
For many locals here, the sewage system is fine until it rains. For others cleanliness comes as a sour point in their living. “The sewage network was improved. But drains begin to overflow once it starts raining,” said Gayatri Devi, a resident of Azad Nagar. Another resident complained of persistent irregularities on the part of safai karmacharis in cleaning their locality.
Muslims who mostly reside in Seelampur and Welcome area constitute 22 per cent of the total population in Gandhi Nagar. Except Azad Nagar, which is with the BJP, all the other municipal wards (Gandhi Nagar, Raghubar Pura and Dharam Pura) in this Assembly constituency are with the Congress. Now seeking his fourth election from the constituency, former Delhi Education Minister Singh will face a direct contest from first-timer RC Jain of BJP. Interestingly, their work in the field of education is the common aspect in both the candidates. While Jain who calls himself an education activist claims of easing out hassles in nursery admissions, Singh boasts of improving pass percentage and reducing drop-out rates among students in the city. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will have former Congress youth leader Anil Kumar Bajpai, as its candidate from the constituency.
Despite their complaints, locals are largely supportive of Arvinder Singh, mostly because of his ‘approachable’ persona. Given the public mood, Gandhi Nagar might come as an easy win for the Congress yet again.
People residing in east and west Azad Nagar, Kanti Nagar and Shankar Nagar, near to Singh’s ancestral home, seem very satisfied with their MlA. “Arvinder has lived his whole life here. He has got so many projects implemented and everyone knows him. We all share a comfortable relationship, so we don’t want change,” said Nakul Aggarwal, a resident of Kanti Nagar.
This seat is seen as a stronghold of Singh in Congress circles. The Gandhi Nagar seat was with BJP in 1993, but in subsequent elections the Congress was continually voted to power. Singh contested for the first time in 1998 and won, becoming the youngest MlA at the age of 28. later, he became Delhi’s youngest Minister at 33.