AAP candidate from Shahdara constituency, Jitender Singh Shunty, during a rally before filing his nomination for the Delhi Assembly elections
| Photo Credit: FILE Photo
Jitender Singh Shunty, the Padma Shri awardee who gained fame during the COVID-19 pandemic for providing free ambulance services and cremating bodies for the needy, says he is contesting the Delhi Assembly election as an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate to improve the health infrastructure.
“There are 30 ventilators in city hospitals, but only two are functional. At government hospitals, ambulances are missing; in private hospitals, patients are asked to arrange their own ambulance,” Mr. Shunty alleges.
Besides private hospitals, the Capital houses Centre, State and MCD-run hospitals.
When told that improving the State government and MCD-run hospitals is a responsibility of AAP, Mr. Shunty replied, “Given the circumstances, AAP is the best bet, and I align with Arvind Kejriwal’s [AAP chief] vision. The BJP has a vision for the country, but not for Delhi.”
Mr. Shunty, dubbed ‘Ambulance Man of Delhi’, wore a PPE kit to fill nominations from the Shahdara Assembly constituency. “In a city like Delhi lakhs of people died during the COVID-19 times. The entire government machinery failed. Even the oxygen cylinder scarcity was a man-made crisis,” he says.
When asked whether the city’s health infrastructure has improved post-pandemic, the 62-year-old leader says, “I don’t think there’s been any improvement. We are still where, where we were earlier.”
If elected, Mr. Shunty says, “I want to introduce a pink ambulance, which will be exclusively for women and driven and managed by women staff.”
He also wants to establish a hostel and creche in his constituency for the working women who are non-Delhi residents.
Turning point
Mr. Shunty says an unexpected encounter at a crematorium in 1996 “shaped his journey”.
“I was at a crematorium to attend the last rites of a known person when I saw a poor man stealing wooden logs from a burnt pyre to arrange wood for his 13-year-old son’s last rites,” he recalls.
This incident motivated him to start an NGO — Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal — to provide accessible and free emergency services. To date, the NGO has conducted 70,000 cremations, he claims.
Mr. Shunty entered politics in 2008 when he contested the councillor election from Jhilmil ward in east Delhi as an Independent and won. He later joined the BJP and again won the councillor post.
In 2013, he contested the Shahdara seat from the BJP and emerged victorious. However, two years later, he was defeated by AAP from the same constituency.
He quit the BJP and joined AAP in December last year. “Initially, I was reluctant to return to politics, but Kejriwal ji convinced me by saying that we [AAP] serve the needs of the living, and you serve the needs of the deceased. Together, we can ensure that every vulnerable individual receives respect in life and dignity in death,” he said.
Sitting Shahdara legislator and Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel has announced his retirement from politics. He has been replaced by Mr. Shunty, who will take on BJP’s Sanjay Goyal and Congress’s Jagat Singh.
Published – January 30, 2025 01:22 am IST