‘Found out about nomination only through TV; Modi hai toh mumkin hai’

THE FIRST woman candidate fielded by the BJP from the West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, Kamaljeet Sehrawat talks to The Indian Express about her plans for the area, her journey in politics, and her campaign strategy. Excerpts from an interview:

How did you come to be associated with the BJP?

My family has been associated with the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Sway ams eva ks angh(rss).inbjp, I started off with the district-level Mahila Morcha… I contested the Vidhan Sabha elections in 2008, and have served as Delhi BJP’S vice-president as well as the

Mahila Morcha president. Now, I am the general secretary. I was also the Mayor of the erstwhile South MCD.

Are you originally from West Delhi?

I was born and brought up in Uttam Nagar, in the Vikaspuri Assembly constituency. I studied in a government school in Janakpuri, and my college was also in Moti Nagar. Everything in my life has been in this constituency.

How have you seen the area evolve over the years?

If I talk about Dwarka, it is a well-planned city. However, for

Uttam Nagar and Vikaspuri, I would say that they were better wheniw as growing up. problems related to traffic, water and parking have continuously been increasing. Right now, there is simply a huge lack of cleanliness and proper waste disposal system. In Uttam Nagar, the roads are terrible, the drains are choked, and there are heaps of trash everywhere.

You have mentioned that you aim to work on the expansion of Metro lines from Najafgarh to Nangloi and Dhansa village on priority. How would this help mobility in the area?

Last year, the Metro reached the Dhansa bus stand in Najafgarh. Now, Delhi has extended to Bakkarwala, which is 20 kms further. It is not safe at all there, especially for women and girls. Nangloi is such a densely populated area. People there are frustrated over the lack of bus services. That’s why Metro will be a lifeline to these areas.

Construction of a sports stadium also figures in your list of priorities. What is the thought process behind that?

There is a lot of DDA (Delhi Development Authority) and gram sabha land in the area. There are also many young sportspersons in West Delhi, including girls and even 80-yearold women! It is very difficult for them to spend hours commuting

Instagram to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

How does it feel to be nominated by the BJP as its first woman candidate for the constituency?

It’s like a dream come true. I have never met (PM Narendra) Modi ji or Amit Shah ji personally. I only found out through TV that I have been nominated…

Modi hai toh mumkin hai.

What is your feedback mechanism like?

Anyone can come to my office, it is open all 7 days of the week, from 10 am to 5 pm. I am constantly going to different places and events in the constituency. all then go sin the area are very well connected tome. When you get feedback from the people, you can do high-quality work as you know what they need.

West Delhi is composed of many villages. What are your plans for their development?

Approximately 76 villages fall in my constituency ... the problem is that villagers are not getting to exercise their rights over the commonlands. road connectivity was not brought to these places. The best thing is that L-G sir (V K Saxena) has noticed these issues. When these villages became‘ urban’, l-g sir got rs 840 cr ore transferred to th eDDA. The Centre has also given Rs 400 crore. From this fund of Rs 1,200 crore, developmentwork is underway in delhi’ s 360 villages. secondly, the l-g has ordered that whatever land belongs to DDA gram sabhas, must be used for the particular village’s common services only, like parks, community halls, sports complexes. So, these are my two prioritieswith respect to the villages.

What is your election campaign strategy?

Reaching out to the public as much as possible, and spreading the work that Modi has done for the country, for Delhi, and for West Delhi in the last 10 years. I am also making sure that people are aware of the work I have done as the Mayor of South Delhi.

With CM Kejriwal running his government from jail, there are speculations of a possible Constitutional crisis. What are your comments on this?

His party currently has 62 MLAS — is there no one capable enough to become CM? Why does he want to run a government out of jail? He is the one raising the constitutional crisis.

Do you have any message for the constituency?

I just want to say that this upcoming election will be very crucial in giving a sense of direction to the country, to the society. So vote after a lot of research, but please do vote.

Kamaljeet Sehrawat.