Another party vows to 'end corruption, give cheap electricity'

The Naya Daur Party wants to be “the idea whose time has come”. On their  website, the party distances itself from other existing political parties – the members are “media shy” and that they do not “pay the media”.

As party members spoke at a press meet on Wednesday on their agenda to fight the Delhi Assembly Elections, 2014, there was a desperate attempt among party members to stir the sentiments of the middle-class voters.

Uninterrupted electric supply to all at reasonable rates, vehicles without red beacons if voted to power, total elimination of corruption, end of “ghost workers” at the civic bodies, elimination of caste and security of women – the agenda seemed anything but new.

It almost looked like the party with a motley group of doctors, senior journalists, engineers, advocates, social activists and poets was trying to reach out to people through the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) formula.

Though the party claims to have a coherent well thought policies, their agenda vacillated from drawing inspiration from German philosopher Immanuel Kant, Swami Vivekananda to the bank of doctors in the party who want to deliver “health at doorstep”.

Following AAP party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s brief stint at the government, it is doubtful if citizens will invest faith in a party which promises to deliver radically – making Delhi dengue and malaria free in one year and performing complex cardiac operations in Volvo buses in residential areas. The election symbol of the party is doctor’s stethoscope.

“We will provide universal health insurance to all citizens of Delhi on the basis of Aadhar card. We have already worked on the calculations,” said Dr Sanjeev Chhiber, President, Naya Daur Party.

To provide quality education to children, the party promises that it will compel all schools to enrol children within three km of their residence. “Fees will be standardised. Strict action will be taken if the schools do not follow the rules,” said Dr Chibber, a senior cancer surgeon.

Privatising workers in MCD and throwing open sports complexes and private clubs to the public at nominal rates are among its other plans to woo voters.

Despite bagging an insignificant number of votes in last year’s Assembly elections here, it is still confident to be at least “the number two party in February 2015”.