Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the first of his three rallies in the national capital on 29 January, as Delhi goes to assembly polls on 5 February.
His next two rallies are scheduled for 31 January and 2 February.
The rallies are taking place at several locations across the capital, where PM Modi is directly addressing issues and alleged unfulfilled promises of the State’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
With less than a week to go for the Delhi Assembly elections, the battle is heating up among the big trio – AAP, the BJP and the main opposition Congress. While the ruling AAP is hoping for a hat-trick in the polls, the Congress seeks to return to power after 12 years and the BJP hopes to return to power after 26 years.
BJP was last in power in Delhi from 1993-98, while Congress was in power 1998 till 2013.
Focusing on Delhi’s problems
PM Modi focused on Delhi’s humongous problems in his first rally in the northeast Yamuna Khadar area of the city. Addressing a huge crowd that had an unusually large attendance from women, Modi said, “25 years have gone by. The first 14 years saw a Congress government, then you saw ‘AAPda’ (pun on AAP, meaning ‘trouble’) government for 11 years… These 25 years have been ruined by these two parties… they have ruined two generations… Delhi’s problems have remained the same — traffic jams, broken roads, overflowing sewage, waterlogging, pollution… people are even crying for drinking water.”
He urged to give a chance to the BJP. “I urge you to give Modi an opportunity to serve Delhi. I have done a lot of work across the country, but you have not given me a chance to serve you… I promise to take care of you. I will put all my energy into fulfilling your dreams.”
He was received with thunderous applause.
“We trust in Modi’s guarantee, none else, not even in the BJP leadership’s,” exclaimed Meenakshi, a government teacher and a voter attending the rally, as quoted by The New Indian Express.
“PM Modi has vision, a mission, and ambition – all combined to make Bharat a developed nation. Visit my native state, Odisha, and you will see the transformation he is bringing there,” said another voter, Dinesh Das, who works as a clerk in a Delhi government school, to The New Indian Express.
Meanwhile, PM Modi assured swift action on BJP’s election promises for Delhi.
He said, “After 8 February, the BJP government in Delhi will fulfil all its promises in a time-bound manner. This is ‘Modi ki Guarantee’. Today, ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ means the guarantee of completion of all guarantees.”
“Every citizen is working towards making India a developed nation. For that, it is crucial that the capital city becomes a model of development,” Modi added. “But looking at the condition of Delhi today, do you think it can achieve that? I don’t even need to say anything; Delhiites themselves express their suffering every day.”
He also expressed grief for the tragedy in neighbouring state Uttar Pradesh’ Prayagraj where a stampede at the Maha Kumbh religious gathering resulted in the death of at least 30.
Yamuna controversy
Another big issue at the centre of the assembly election campaigning is the world’s most polluted river Yamuna. The river stretches for around 50 km in national capital Delhi where sewage and industrial effluent from nearly 15 drains are pumped into the river’s waters, severely polluting it.
AAP chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has alleged that the neighbouring state Haryana had “mixed poison in the water coming to Delhi from the Yamuna”.
The Election Commission asked Kejriwal to furnish proof backing his allegation. In a 14-page response to the Election Commission with data, Kejriwal said raw water received from the BJP-ruled state in the recent past has been “highly contaminated and extremely poisonous” for human health.
“I beseech and most humbly request the Election Commission to intervene on the major issue of availability of safe water and pass appropriate directions to the State of Haryana so that a safe quantity of water is made available to the citizens of Delhi,” he added.
Now, the BJP and the Congress have challenged Kejriwal over his poisoning of Yamuna claims, and the issue has snowballed into a dramatic controversy ahead of the assembly polls.
While PM Modi accused him of lying in his rally, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi also jumped in.
“Five years ago, Arvind Kejriwal said that he would take a bath and drink the water of the Yamuna River. It’s been five years, but to date, Kejriwal ji has not drunk the water of Yamuna.”
