Delhi ’s villages vote for candidates, not issues No name on list, no votes, many residents return disappointed
POLLS Many say their votes were based on closeness to a candidate
Not expecting much from the administration to look into their civic demands, voters from some of Delhi’s villages on Sunday decided cast their votes only for candidates from their own communities.
“I have been living in Model Town since the time it was a jungle. Big buildings have come up now and in the next few years, even our villages will be commercialised. For us, the candidate matters. Someone who is local and from the community is preferred. Candidates from the three main parties are from the same community,” said Nafe Singh Dabas, a retired principal from Model Town.
In Najafgarh, the owners of farm lands voted based on their loyalty towards a party or a candidate.
“Every family here comes out to vote based on their closeness to a particular candidate. For example, one of the elders in my family is a friend of a candidate who is contesting from here. So, everyone in my family will vote for him,” said Anil Kumar, 35, a resident of Najafgarh.
Villagers said there were certain issues that they wanted the candidates in general and civic bodies in particular to address. In Ghoga village of Alipur, for example, lack of a primary healthcare center is an issue that makes residents travel at least 10km when they are sick.
“There is no dispensary for a village with a population of 6,000. We have requested the MP, MLA and ministers several times and hope we get a small healthcare facility after this election,” said Rameshwar, a resident of Ghoga.
In the 2012 municipal elections, the villagers of Ladpur and Sannoth in outer Delhi’s Kanjhawla had boycotted the polls demanding chakbandi (consolidation of land). The problem was later resolved by the Delhi government. Queued up in front of polling booths on Sunday, the villagers threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, if they didn’t get Metro connectivity.
Residents of some other villages complained about absence of roads. “Our lives won’t change after voting. No one listens to our plight anyway,” said a farmer from Najafgarh.
Sunday, a number of people turned up to vote but had to return after not finding their names on the elctoral roll.
While most voters returned home disappointed, some said they would take the matter up with the state election commission.
RP Kharib, a resident of Deoli, for instance, said he had a very long Sunday, which ended in disappointment. He wandered from one polling station to another in his ward as he could not find his name on the electoral list.
“My wife and I have our voter cards but can’t find our names on the list. I have checked at both the polling booths in my ward. I have voted in the past but I don’t know what the problem is this time ,” said Kharib.
At south Delhi’s Alaknanda, too, some residents complained about not being able to find their names on the voter list. A former RWA president, Sulbha Gupta, 39, said her husband and her names had gone missing .
“Even in 2015 we had both voted. I am planning on lodging a complaint with the election commission. My right to vote has been snatched and this is unacceptable.,” she said.
A polling official at the Alaknanda booth admitted that there might have been some error leading some names having gone missing from the list. HTC