After two terms, Maken faces dual challenge of Modi, AAP for New Delhi

Two first-time candidates will be contesting against two-time Congress MP Ajay Maken for the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat and with less than a month to go, the outcome couldn’t be more uncertain. Under ordinary circumstances, Maken would be the favourite to win, but a careful study of the constituency reveals that winning the seat could be a herculean task for him. Having won seven of the 10 assembly seats that constitute the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, the Aam Aadmi Party appears to be the frontrunner in the run up to the poll, but it faces a massive roadblocks. A slogan doing the rounds among voters in the constituency is: “Candidate majboori hai, lekin Modi jaroori hai"(The candidate is a compulsion but it is essential to bring Modi to power). However, unlike other constituencies, the New Delhi constituency has never been a bastion of any party. The BJP and the Congress have won the seat three times each in last six elections. The selection of candidates from both the BJP and the AAP carried an element of surprise. In the BJP, Meenakshi Lekhi bagged the ticket despite speculation over the candidature of journalist MJ Akbar and fellow party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman. In the AAP, the selection of journalist Ashish Khetan as its candidate has stumped even those in the party. “It was a surprising decision,” a top AAP leader confessed. [caption id=“attachment_1443181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Maken may have had it easier in previous elections. PTI[/caption] According to observers, voters in the New Delhi constituency do not vote on the basis of caste and communal factors, something that is routine in almost all other Delhi constituencies. “New Delhi is a constituency that votes on the basis of issues. But the constituency has a Schedule Caste population of around 17 percent and that can be decisive,” a senior Delhi journalist, who did not wish to be named, said. The result of the Delhi assembly elections, held in 2013, supports his theory. “One principal reason behind winning the constituencies in New Delhi was the issue of corruption. Corruption teamed with anti-incumbency had made even Sheila Dikshit lose by such a huge margin, which was not quite expected,” an Aam Aadmi Party official, who was in charge of coordination for the Delhi assembly election, said on condition of anonymity. Maken won the last two elections he contested by resounding margins. In 2009, he defeated BJP’s Vijay Goel by two lakh votes. However, that is hardly any reason for him to be complacent this time. The Congress’ dismal show in the assembly segments has already served him a warning. “The anti-incumbency wave has cost the party a lot in the assembly election but we are still hopeful about the New Delhi seat and will be campaigning on the issue of development,” a Congress MLA in Delhi, who is known to be close to Maken and did not want to be named, said. “We will highlight Maken’s role in implementing the one rank one pension scheme and the seventh pay commission,” he said. The promise of development, however, is unlikely to strike a chord with the electorates. When Firstpost visited different parts of the New Delhi constituency, many people accused Maken of being an underachiever. “Rahul Gandhi is my neighbour and I’ve been living here for the last 24 years. In the month of February we got a proper public convenience complex for the first time and the credit goes to Priyanaka Gandhi,” Shankar Lal, a resident of a slum cluster right behind the house of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tughlak Lane, said. “We saw Maken only once in last 10 years and that is only after Priayanka took up the matter,” he told Firstpost. Ashish Khetan, the AAP’s candidate from New Delhi, also accuses Maken of underachievement. “I’m a first-time candidate. But what has Maken done in the last 10 years?” he said. Maken has problems beyond just his underachievement. His party’s record over the last 10 years aren’t going to help his chances. “Price rise and corruption are the only two issues when I’m going to vote,” Gaurav Batra, a businessman from Rajinder Nagar, a seat where BJP defeated the AAP in the assembly election, said. However, Batra isn’t too impressed by the AAP either. “AAP talks about anti-corruption and one thing they have displayed that they were ready to take on corruption head on,” Batra said. But as a businessman he feels that the AAP does not have an economic vision. “Modi has spoken about tax reforms and he comes across as a man who supports business. So I’ll definitely consider the option,” he said. However, he mentions that he is unaware of both the candidates of the AAP and the BJP. The battle for the New Delhi seat has also gone beyond the identity of the candidates. “We are reaching out to people only in the name of Narendra Modi. It is very unlikely that Meenakshi Lekhi as a candidate will strike a chord with the voters in so little time. Our campaign will be completely in the name of Narendra Modi,” a member of the RSS in Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said. The RSS, he claimed, is running a strong campaign in the capital. “The selection Harsh Vardhan as the chief of Delhi BJP will definitely give it an edge. He has been a Sangh member for the last 40 years now,” he said. A senior Congress leader, who did not wish to be named, acknowledged that Maken has a tough task retaining his seat. “Modi, Kejriwal and the last 10 years of Congress rule are definitely the toughest challenge for any Congress candidate now,” he said.