For Dikshit, Kejriwal or BJP: Why Delhi auto rickshaws are a key votebank

In the last week of April, Kallu got a telephone call from a fellow auto rickshaw driver in New Delhi. The driver told Kallu, who is also treasurer of Bharatiya Tipahiya Chalak Sangh, a union of auto rickshaw drivers, that the state government had agreed to increase the auto rickshaw fares in the national capital by 25 percent. It was a victory for Kallu, and his union of around 15,000 auto rickshaw drivers, who had been lobbying hard with the state government to increase fares in light of the constant rise of CNG prices. The same evening, a delegation of auto- drivers met state chief minister Sheila Dikshit to thank her. They also asked Dikshit and state transport minister Ramakant Goswami if they were considering another demand they had put before the government, a welfare board for auto-rickshaw drivers. The body was to run welfare schemes for them in the event of accidents and emergencies. They were sent off with an assurance that something would be done soon. As Delhi assembly elections draw closer, political parties are going all out to woo auto rickshaw drivers. While there is no government data on how many rickshaw drivers cast their votes in Delhi, over 1.25 lakh engaged in the profession reside in Delhi. The drivers constitute a sizeable chunk of the migrant population in Delhi-a vote bank which political parties cannot afford to ignore. Around 75,000 auto rickshaws operate on Delhi’s roads, and are one of the most visible forms of public transport. Till the early 1990s, they were a crucial part of election campaigning, with political parties using them to display their flags. A party’s chances of victory was presumed to be dependent on the number of autorickshaws displaying its flag. [caption id=“attachment_910699” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] One of the regular rickshaws in Delhi. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost[/caption] However, since then the equation between the auto rickshaw drivers and political parties has changed. At present, there are at least eight registered auto rickshaw unions in Delhi, almost all of them affiliated with a political party. Kallu’s union is affiliated with the Congress party. The affiliation works for both, the union and the political party, said Kallu, “When the party holds a rally in the city, we mobilise a crowd for it. We are present in plain clothes at such events. When we have demands, we approach the transport ministry as we have better access than auto unions which are not affiliated to the party,” he said. Proximity with the ruling party is also a reason why Kallu does not think about extending support to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). “Kejriwalji is genuine and honest. I have seen him speaking. But I am already in a position where I can get my work done. I cannot go for someone like Kejriwal whose chances of winning are doubtful,” he said. The political significance of this vote bank might explain the bitter fight earlier this month between the Congress and Aam Aadmi Pary (AAP) over advertisements on the back of three wheelers. Around 10,000 auto rickshaw drivers have extended support to the AAP through Nyay Bhoomi, an NGO, working for the rights of auto rickshaw drivers. The vehicles backing Kejriwal bear posters asking voters to choose between Dikshit and Arvind Kejriwal, AAP’s chief ministerial candidate. AAP leader Manish Sisodia denies that his party is looking at auto rickshaw drivers as vote bank. “These drivers were already with an NGO. And if we can amplify their voice through AAP, what is wrong in that?” he said. When asked about the posters on these vehicles, he said, “We saw some auto rickshaws carrying advertisements of different products and companies and thought that it could be an economical and innovative campaign for our party.” AAP’s campaign strategy, however, did not go down well with the state government. In the first week of June, the Delhi government issued an order banning the display of  advertisements on auto rickshaws, a move that AAP claims was taken to muzzle its campaign. On 19 June, the Delhi High Court stayed the ban after AAP member and lawyer Prashant Bhushan argued that the ban was discriminatory as it dealt only with  auto rickshaws and was silent on other modes of transports which carried similar advertisements. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s political advisor Pawan Khera shot off a letter to Kejriwal, describing the rickshaw political campaign as one that was ‘uncouth’ and ‘uncivilised’. AAP had stooped too low in showing disrespect to a lady leader, said Khera. [caption id=“attachment_910695” align=“alignright” width=“380”] One of the rickshaw drivers backing AAP puts up a poster on his vehicle. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost[/caption] Responding to the letter, Kejriwal said Dikshit should not use Khera as her mouth-person and dared her to engage with him in a public debate. However, the state Congress unit tried to downplay the controversy saying that AAP’s stand on auto rickshaw drivers is not clear. “In their rallies, they used to talk about woes of the commuters and how auto rickshaw drivers cheat them. Now they are trying to become the messiahs of these very drivers. We are unperturbed by these activities. It doesn’t matter to our party,” Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Jitender Kochar told Firstpost. Auto rickshaws also matter to the BJP, the main opposition party in Delhi. Over the last 15 years of Congress rule in Delhi, BJP has consistently alleged corruption and illegalities in the issuance of permits for auto rickshaws. In November 2011, the Supreme Court ordered the state government to issue 45,000 new auto rickshaw permits. Rather than issuing these permits at once, the state government issued them in batches. “The objective was to create artificial scarcity and give a free hand to financiers and touts,” said Vijendar Gupta, former Delhi BJP chief. Leader of RSS-affiliated Bartiya Parivate Mazdoor Sangh,  Rajendra Soni said that the way BJP is dealing with auto rickshaw drivers, it was bound to lose their support. “Every time they wanted my men to participate in a Delhi bandh, I supported them. But when we demanded a hike in auto fares, the BJP opposed it. I told them that it’s a give and take relationship. Since they have opposed our demand, they cannot expect our support. When state government increased the fares, we met the chief minister to thank her. If the BJP continues like this, we will be left with no option but to go with the Congress,” he said. At present, which political party is working genuinely for the cause of auto rickshaw drivers? “None. All of them want to use us,” said Soni.