Delhi election: unfazed by high-profile visits, Valmiki Basti voters are looking out only for job opportunities

Most of the area’s residents belong to Scheduled Caste communities and work in the New Delhi Municipal Corporation.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

Party flags in New Delhi’s Valmiki Basti change every few minutes, reflecting the hectic political activity in the constituency from which Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal is seeking re-election against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Parvesh Sahib Singh and Congress’s Sandeep Dikshit.

On Tuesday afternoon, the area was awash with Congress flags as party leader Rahul Gandhi and Mr. Dikshit dropped by, spoke to its residents, and offered respect at Valmiki Temple. Within minutes of their departure, the Congress flags were replaced with flags of the BJP before a visit by its campaigners. Soon enough, the area changed colours to AAP’s yellow and blue before the entry of the ruling party’s pamphlet-carrying workers.

Observing the action from a distance, Vinod Pihal, a 56-year-old employee of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), said he was unimpressed with the flurry of senior political figures.

“Most of the residents belong to Scheduled Caste communities and work in the NDMC. The most pressing concern here is that our children, unlike us, are well-educated but unemployed. We want someone who will create jobs for them,” he said.

Ishwar Ujainwal, 66, a retired NDMC worker, said, “The Valmiki community in the Capital has managed to educate its children. But the problem of lack of jobs looms over us as private firms are unwilling to take members of our community and there are very few government jobs.”

Valmiki Basti has, over the past few years, seen several high-profile leaders from up close. In 2013, it witnessed Mr. Kejriwal picking up ‘jhaadu’ (AAP’s election symbol), defeating the then Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, and becoming the CM. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission from the Valmiki Temple, where Mahatma Gandhi had lived for a year. The area remains at the centre stage of politics as 12 of the 70 Assembly seats are reserved for the SC communities, and Valmikis comprise a huge chunk of Delhi’s SC voters.

Divided opinion

While AAP, BJP, and Congress have made various promises to mitigate the unemployment crisis, the voters here appear to be divided over which party’s manifesto suits them best.

Rahul, 40, a data-entry operator, said, “AAP made tall promises but did little work.” Countering him, 71-year-old Jai Kishan, another retired NDMC employee, said, “AAP has made efforts, but it is the BJP at the Centre that has been stopping them.”