Kanhaiya takes on two-time BJP MP in riots-scarred Northeast Delhi
Voters in the Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, which will see a direct contest between twotime BJP MP Manoj Tiwari and Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, say they are tired of “divisive politics” and will cast their ballots in favour of development. The seat goes to the polls in the sixth phase on May 25.
“This constituency needs better roads, schools, hospitals, houses, but every single politician plays divisive politics using the same old ‘Hindu-Muslim’ narrative. When will we ever see development?” asks Bablu Gautam, a plumber and resident of Shiv Vihar. “We get no help from party leaders, only politics,” he says.
Mr. Gautam recalls the riots that rocked northeast Delhi in February 2020. He says his family of four did not step out of their house for two days while the violence raged. “We became the headline for days; many leaders used our names in their speeches. But have these leaders paid us a visit and seen that we live amid mounting piles of garbage and foul-smelling water?” he says.
Even during the nationwide lockdown, political leaders did not provide any help to the residents, Mr. Gautam says. “Neighbours helped each other amid the riots and made sure the area remained safe. The poor were either killed or arrested. Those who orchestrated the riots are still scot-free,” he adds.
Economic boycott
Muslims constitute around 13% of Delhi’s population; in the Northeast Delhi constituency, this gure stands at 29.34%, according to the 2011 census. In Old Mustafabad, Mudassir Abbas, whose brother Ashfaq Hussain was shot dead during the riots, says, “Even our children know how hatred is being spread between communities.”
Mr. Abbas points out that people in this constituency have lost jobs due to the riots.
He adds, “We have all seen the hate speeches delivered by leaders at various rallies, the targeted attacks on the Muslim community, and calls for its complete economic boycott. Is this what the people of northeast Delhi deserve?” Mr. Abbas says that no politician wants to address “the lack of public toilets, parks, or proper hospitals in the area and the unsanitary conditions we live in. Whenever we le complaints, we are ignored or harassed by the police.”
In New Mustafabad, a few residents are discussing the upcoming election on a busy road which has been dug up, with garbage piling up on the pavement. “Look at the condition of this neighbourhood. If a leader comes for a rally, then at least it will be cleaned. We don’t have any kind of hope that politicians will do anything for us,” says Tahir Malik, 45, a scrap dealer. Mohammad Fareeb, who sells papayas, says, “The roads were laid during the Congress rule. There hasn’t been much development since then. We have a BJP MP [Tiwari] and an AAP MLA [Haji Yunus], but locals feel the situation hasn’t changed since the last Assembly election in 2020. We feel Kanhaiya could be a promising face.”