Nand Kishore Garg is trying to win a fifth term to the Delhi Assembly on the basis of a good performace from Tri Nagar. Among the senior leaders in Delhi BJP, Garg tells Rahul Chhabra that the entry of Kiran Bedi into the party has done wonders to its prospects with a large number of women voters getting attracted by her. Excerpts:
Why should the voter re-elect you?
I deserve to be re-elected because as a four-time legislator, I have taken care of my constituency. I spent a record Rs 6.76 crore of the MLA development fund in the constituency. This is the highest expenditure by any legislator in the last 11 months.
Some people say you are not visible in the constituency?
These are lies. I am the most-accessible and visible of all the legislators.
What are the main problems in your constituency?
Parking, drainage system, sanitation and safety are the prime concerns of voters in my constituency. I have focused on resolving these issues. One of my ambitious projects is that of installing CCTV cameras across the constituency. More than 3,000 cameras have already been installed and the work is still in progress for many more.
Is AAP is posing a tough challenge to BJP?
The AAP relies on false propaganda. Through propaganda, the AAP got good number of seats in the last Assembly elections. The AAP wasn’t in majority but Arvind Kejriwal still managed to become the CM.
Instead of resolving problems in a planned manner, he chose to gain popularity by distributing freebies. These tricks are not going to work again.
Do you think that by declaring Kiran Bedi as the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, the party has angered some leaders?
Kiran Bediji is a jewel in the crown of the nation. She is an asset to the whole nation. Everybody has full faith on her honesty, hard work and capabilities. She is the best among all chief ministerial candidates and is being loved by all voters, especially women.
Everyone in the party is very proud to have her as the face of the party. She is elder to most of the leaders in the party and belongs to the same age group as that of senior party leaders. Everybody is charged and enthusiastic under her mentorship.
Do you think the central government has delivered enough to check inflation and influence voters with its good governance?
There is no doubt about Modi government’s good governance. Inflation has come down. India is an open economy and issues like inflation depend on various factors. There exists a complex set of problems because of the wrong decisions taken by the previous Congress government.
Our relations across globe are getting better, investment and other opportunities are coming to India. Modiji has a vision and he is doing things in a planned manner.
We have to understand that there is a difference in eliminating the root cause of the problem and in doing superficial cosmetic changes. People have faith in him and elected him for five years. This is just a start and his initiatives have already started bearing fruits.
