AAP, BJP, Congress set sights on Rajinder Nagar by-election
New Delhi: The premise for the Rajinder Nagar by-elections has been firmly established with the three political parties, BJP, AAP and Congress declaring their candidates. While AAP declared MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak as their candidate a week back, BJP and Congress have picked ex-councillors, Rajesh Bhatia and Prem Lata respectively as their candidates a couple of days back.
The by-election for Rajinder Nagar assembly seat which was left vacant after former MLA and senior AAP leader Raghav Chadha was elevated to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab is being projected by AAP as a litmus test of the party's governance model. AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "The BJP-ruled Central government postponed the MCD elections and ran away from the battle. In this context, the relevance of the by-elections has all the more increased. This by-poll will hint towards the mood of Delhi."
AAP's 31-year-old candidate Durgesh Pathak has been conducting 'padyatras' and 'Jansamvad' with the voters of the constituency on a daily basis communicating the work done by ex-MLA, Chadha and the Delhi government for the Rajinder Nagar constituency. AAP has extensively targeted the BJP based on its work done in the MCD and has even charged allegations on BJP's candidate Rajesh Bhatia for running illegal properties in the constituency. Pathak has also written a letter to MCD special officer Ashwani Kumar addressing the issues of waste management in the constituency. He further blamed the BJP-led MCD for their negligence and bias towards the people living in the constituency.
Pathak, who has already filed two sets of nominations, is set to file his final nomination today alongside a rally and a roadshow in the constituency.
On the contrary, the BJP has been conducting booth level meetings and its workers are interacting with voters through a door-to-door campaign. According to BJP, 24 members of the AAP from the constituency have joined the BJP last week at a booth level meeting in presence of state party president and other office bearers. Rajesh Bhatia has also labeled Pathak, who is originally from Gorakhpur, as an outsider claiming him to be unaware of the ground realities at play in Rajinder Nagar.
The residents of Rajinder Nagar, on the other hand, consider illegal constructions and traffic congestion as one of the biggest issues being faced in the constituency. Nishant Verma, a resident of Naraina Vihar said, "The AAP has been doing work in bits and pieces. But at the ground level the BJP candidate has a much stronger appeal than AAP's Pathak." The constituency has a fair population of voters belonging to all income groups. Three villages, Dasghara, Todapur and Naraina also come under this constituency with a sizable population living in slums.
The turnout for the last assembly elections held in 2020 was 1,03,367. AAP's Raghav Chadha received 59,135 votes with a vote share of 57.06 per cent. BJP's RP Singh received 39,077 votes with a vote share of 37.70 per cent and Congress's Rocky Tuseed managed to get 3,941 votes with a vote share of 3.80 per cent.
