Vijender no pushover: Delhi BJP gives Sheila, Kejriwal a tough fight

In fielding Vijender Gupta from the New Delhi Assembly seat, while the general opinion is that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) found a sacrificial lamb for a seat no party member was too enthusiastic about contesting from – AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal will contest from here, and so will Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit though the official party candidates’ list is still to be declared – the party has, in fact, conveyed that it plans to post a keen contest in this traditional Congress bastion. [caption id=“attachment_121877” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Vijender Gupta. AFP[/caption] Gupta was not actually the BJP’s original choice for the task. Former BJP President Nitin Gadkari who is in charge of the Delhi campaign now was reportedly keen that a  senior leader must contest from here, as fielding a weak candidate would send out the message that the party has already accepted defeat against the two heavyweights. But the party’s known faces in Delhi, including Vijay Jolly and Vijay Kumar Malhotra, had already refused to contest from here. Former DUSU president Nupur Sharma was a de facto frontrunner, with other names including district workers Sunil Yadav and Rajeev Rana also being discussed by party bosses, among others.  Before the BJP declared candidates for 62 seats, Yadav even   told Firstpost that he was the person for the job. But ultimately, it was Gupta who the mantle fell upon. Not only was he picked because of his seniority, but he had also been picked in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls to contest from Chandni Chowk, against senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal. He lost to Sibal by over 2 lakh votes, faring poorly in almost all Assembly segments. But he’d still made enough of an impact during campaigning to corner the job of president of the party’s Delhi unit the following year. During his stint from 2010 to 2013 he  attacked the chief minister regularly, alleging corruption and misgovernance. In fact, the chief minister filed a defamation case against Gupta, which has been going on for more than a year now in a local court. Last week, the court imposed a penalty of Rs 5,000 on Dikshit for not appearing, something BJP workers see as a small victory for him. Gupta also lodged a complaint in the state Lokayukta office alleging financial irregularities in Dikshit’s advertising campaign before the 2008 Assembly poll. After the municipal corporation of Delhi was trifurcated in 2012, the BJP won all three bodies under Gupta’s tenure. “He came across as a combative leader who was always active. The party wants to use his angst by pitching him against the chief minister. Also, he is a familiar face for the party workers as he was the state unit chief till eight months ago,” BJP spokesperson Sanjay Kaul told Firstpost. “By selecting him as the candidate from New Delhi, the party has proved that it is confident of winning the seat,” he added. Within hours of Gupta’s candidature, Dikshit described him as an outsider. “It is the BJP’s choice. I am yet to assess his potential in my area. He is an outsider here as he lives in Rohini,” she told the Times of India . The AAP also believes Gupta is a weak candidate. Their leader Yogendra Yadav told Firstpost, “Had the BJP put up a strong candidate, New Delhi could have become a real battle. Vijender Gupta is not the number one leader they have.” The New Delhi seat was carved out post delimitation in 2008. It witnessed the first assembly election the same year. Sheila Dikshit, two time legislator from Gole Market constituency, defeated BJP leader Vijay Jolly by a margin of around 13,000 votes. Government employees form the major chunk of population in New Delhi seat. It is home to MPs, state chief ministers, bureaucrats and judges. Around 10 slum clusters are also located here. Although Vijender Gupta made headlines for targeting the chief minister, his challenge will be to position himself as a solid contender for the Assembly less than a month before election. While Dikshit is a familiar face for voters, AAP, the latest entrant, has already started its campaign. “It looks like people here are divided into two camps- Sheila Dikshit and Arvind Kejriwal. As of now, there is no discourse over a third person or party. Let us see how it turns out once BJP starts canvassing,” said Rakesh Kumar, a government employee and resident of Gole Market area. Identifying local issues in New Delhi constituency to attack Dikshit poses another difficulty. The constituency falls under the ambit of New Delhi Municipal Council and is counted one of the best in terms of civic amenities. Power cuts, poor sanitation, bad roads, unauthorised colonies- factors which tilt the equation in other seats are non issues in New Delhi. Many government employees, however, are disgruntled with the condition of flats given by the government. “These are age old flats with bad furnishing. Hundreds of flats need repair. But it is not an issue for the state government,” said a retired government employee who used to live in Sarojini Nagar area. Before Sunday, the AAP is expected to release its manifesto listing the woes of New Delhi residents. “Not many people know that the condition of slums in this constituency is terrible. It was surprising for us to discover that slum clusters with one of the worst civic amenities in the city are located here. Bad water supply is an issue here. Crime including chain snatching and burglaries take place very frequently here,” said Gopal Mohan, an AAP member and part of the team making the campaign strategy for New Delhi constituency.