Joginder Singh Tanwar hopes social work, legacy will strike right chord with voters

A B.Com graduate from Delhi University’s Dyal Singh College, Tanwar calls himself a dedicated Congress worker. He asserts that he is contesting the municipal elections to reclaim the legacy of his father – former Congress MLA Balram Singh Tanwar.

“I have both political legacy and performance. People in villages know me because of the work carried out by my father, who was elected an MLA twice in 2003 and 2008. Carrying forward his legacy, I too have worked a lot in unauthorised colonies, slums and societies,” said Tanwar. 

Tanwar says people know him as he has been active in political activities and has been an ardent social worker for almost a decade.

Tanwar says he is quite aware about problems of the area (Bhati ward). “I will ensure that people are not forced to cough up money in the name of unauthorised construction and South MCD comes with a policy to provide them relief,” he added, listing out his priorities. 

One of the reasons for rampant unauthorised construction is that the area is largely rural and South MCD officers allegedly accept bribe to allow unauthorised construction. Local residents call it black-mailing.

Tanwar also talked about the exploitation of sanitation workers at the hands of contractors. A large number of people, who work in the sanitation department of South MCD, live in slums and unauthoried colonies in the area is another major issue as the area is dominated by people living in slums and unauthorised colonies who work in sanitation department of South MCD. 

Bhati ward, which houses village areas, lacks schools for girls, technical and professional institutions. “I will ensure a co-ed school in Gadhi Bhati village as boys and girls living here need to travel 3-5km to reach school,” said Tanwar. Besides, the area, which is waiting for a councillor for over a year, also faces road, water and sewage issues. The councillor’s seat fell vacant in February last year.

 Tanwar is confident of winning the election. But it is not going to be an easy fight as both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have fielded Tanwars from the seat – Pawan Tanwar and Ishwar Singh Pradhan, respectively.

There are around 43,000 voters in Bhati ward. In 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, sitting BJP councilor from Chhatarpur, Kartar Singh Tanwar, had switched to AAP and is now an MLA from the area. Aam Aadmi i.e., voters in the area feel that AAP’s magic has  diminished with time so the election this time might be a tri-polar battle.