Jahangirpuri voters recall violence, demolition drive

Nearly eight months after communal clashes rocked north-west Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, the area’s residents came out in large numbers on Sunday to vote in the municipal elections.

Clashes broke out in three blocks of Jahangirpuri on April 16, with the Hindu and Muslim communities blaming each other for the provocation that led to the confrontation. Subsequently, an anti-encroachment drive was conducted by the BJPled North Delhi Municipal Corporation (north MCD) on April 20. The demolition drive was stopped the same day on orders of the Supreme Court, and Jahangirpuri has remained by and large peaceful since then.

Voting for the MCD elections on Sunday, Jahangirpuri residents said local issues such as poor sanitation and the state of roads were among their key concerns, but the impact of the communal clashes and subsequent encroachment removal drive will be visible in the election outcome of the three municipal wards of Bhalswa, Adarsh Nagar and Azadpur which were affected by the events in April.

In Jahangirpuri’s C-block, which has a sizable Muslim population and falls under the Bhalswa ward, residents said the polls were a straight contest between the Congress and AAP.

Akibul Ansari, who works as a plumber, said, “People will vote for a party which they feel will support them and stand by them during difficult times, rather than vote on issues such as sanitation, or the condition of roads.”

However, across the road, in Blocks G and B, which have a sizable Hindu population, residents said the elections would boil down to the AAP or the BJP.

Ganesh Kumar Gupta, a resident of B block, said his juice shop was demolished by the corporation. “My shop was allotted by the DDA, but municipal officers didn’t listen to me and demolished it,” he said.

According to Gupta, most vendors affected by the anti-encroachment drive are back. “They are back, as many had a valid vending licence from the corporation,” he said, adding that he reopened his juice shop in November.

Ashok Kumar, another resident, said, “There is a permanent police booth in the area now. While the situation is normal at present and people don’t talk about the clash, it is there in the back of everyone’s mind. People will never forget it.”