Delhi AAP leader Atishi Marlena.
Credit: DH Photo
New Delhi: When Chief Minister Atishi walked into Govindpuri in Kalkaji constituency, the women gathered there welcomed her by applying ‘tilak’ on her forehead. Some hugged her, some others held her hands as AAP supporters raised slogans hailing Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi.
She became the Chief Minister only four months ago and it is unclear if she will remain one after the February 5 polls but those gathered there had one thing to say: she comes to the constituency regularly even after becoming Delhi Chief Minister and tries to address their concerns.
In a brief speech, Atishi spelled out what she did in the past five years from laying new water pipelines and sewer lines and installing CCTV cameras among others. “With a well-thought-out plan for the next five years, we are committed to making this area even better,” she told the gathering.
Atishi became a first time MLA in 2020 winning Kalkaji with 52.56 per cent votes and a margin of 11,393 votes. Kalkaji had been a Congress bastion in 1998, 2003 and 2008, while BJP bagged the seat in 2013. In 2015, AAP won the seat with a margin of 19,192 votes.
This time, the contest is not an easy walkover for Atishi, who describes herself as the “daughter” of Kalkaji, as BJP and Congress have shed their inhibitions to field senior leaders Ramesh Bidhuri and Alka Lamba respectively against a high profile candidate. The battle lines were clear even before the elections were announced.
With 1.95 lakh voters, including 88,243 women, Kalkaji is a constituency of socio-economic contrasts – on one side you have posh colonies of Maharani Bagh, East of Kailash New Friends Colony and Kalkaji while on the other you have poor and lower middle-class localities Govindpuri and Srinivaspuri.
While voters acknowledge that Atishi has tried to address concerns over road, sewerage and water shortage, complaints are there from several localities, especially from slum clusters and other colonies about potholed roads, unattended garbage and overflowing sewage.
Atishi’s rivals, however, are not impressed with her performance.
“The truth is that she is an accidental Chief Minister. There is a wave of BJP. People of Kalkaji now want a BJP government with good governance in place of the government of filth,” Bidhuri said while adding, he was chosen thrice as MP of South Delhi in which Kalkaji Assembly seat falls and it means people see him as one who works.
However, a section of voters are not amused at his sexist remarks against Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Atishi. He is banking on a double engine government in Delhi, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Lamba too weighs in saying Atishi has a diminished stature as Kejriwal has described as a “temporary” Chief Minister. She also debunks Atishi’s claims of work done in the constituency citing damaged roads and sewage and trouble in water distribution.
The Congress candidate, who was an AAP MLA from Chandni Chowk in 2015 before resigning from the party, believes the votes lost to AAP are returning to her party. But it is an uphill task for Lamba, as the Congress could bag only 4,956 votes five years ago.
Kalkaji in 2020
Atishi – AAP – 55,897
Dharambir Singh BJP – 44,504
Shivani Chopra – 4,956
Delhi Assembly Election 2025 | The first of two state assembly polls this year sees a three-way contest between AAP, Congress, and BJP in the nation's capital. AAP decided to contest the polls alone, causing rumours of a rift in I.N.D.I.A. BJP, meanwhile, is hoping the liquor excise policy scam and pollution in Delhi will give the saffron party an edge over AAP. Kejriwal, on the other hand, has different plans with his demand for reservations for Delhi Jats. Congress will also be looking to make its presence felt and has not held back from attacking its own alliance partner. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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