If I can’t help my community, there’s no point being in politics, says Kapil Mishra

Kapil Mishra interview: Delhi elections

| Video Credit:
The Hindu

After remaining in the shadows for some time, BJP leader Kapil Mishra found himself back on the centre stage earlier this month when the party announced his name from north-east Delhi’s Karawal Nagar Assembly seat for the February 5 Assembly election.

It is the same constituency that voted for him in the 2015 poll when Mr. Mishra was still a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which he helped found. He was subsequently inducted into the Cabinet as the Water Resources Minister but sacked in 2017 for “anti-party activities”. He joined the BJP in 2019 and was appointed vice-president of its Delhi unit four years later.

The BJP leader, who is one of the party’s most visible Purvanchali faces in the Capital, was accused of making hate speeches in the run-up to the north-east Delhi communal riots in February 2020, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

However, Mr. Mishra, who grew up in Karawal Nagar, an industrial area located on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, told The Hindu that he had tried to “prevent the riots” and blamed the media for making him a “villain”.

“Why do people view those speeches as anti-Muslim when, in fact, they were against anti-national and anti-social events,” he said, adding, “The media made me the villain. But the truth is that people know that if Kapil Mishra is here, nothing untoward will happen.”

He said, “If riots break out again, I will again stop them as I did then. Besides, I will get the votes of Muslims also because I have worked for everyone in the area. My campaign has no communal agenda. It’s based on the fact that the AAP government failed to develop the area.”

The former Delhi Minister said the constituency has been home to several communities, such as Purvanchalis, Dalits, and Muslims, and he has the support of all of them “because of my work”.

When asked whether he likes being identified as a “Hindutva firebrand” leader, Mr. Mishra said, “I have been identified as such because I have worked for the community’s welfare, financially and legally. I see it as a medal. If I can’t help my own people, then what is the point of being in politics?”

‘Stalled work’

For many, Mr. Mishra’s switch from AAP was not surprising as his mother, Annapurna Mishra, the first Mayor of East Delhi, was a seasoned BJP leader.

Talking about the lack of infrastructure in the area, the BJP candidate said, “The area has always been neglected. The metro reached here in its very last phase. However, the residents are slowly witnessing some development. I want to ensure that the pace of development doesn’t slow down.”

When the BJP decided to field him from the north-east Delhi seat, it had to replace the sitting MLA, Mohan Singh Bisht, who has represented the constituency since 1998, except for the 2015-2020 Assembly session. After Mr. Bisht threatened to revolt, the BJP named him its contestant from the neighbouring Mustafabad seat.

The BJP candidate is up against AAP’s Manoj Tyagi and Congress’s P.K. Mishra.