October 12,1998
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DELHI Rivals in Disarray While the BJP tries to cover its misrule, the Congress lacks a clear-cut agenda for the assembly elections. By Sayantan Chakravarty
To begin with, Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma may well be denied the chance of an encore. Since taking over from Madan Lal Khurana in February 1996, Verma hasn't exactly endeared himself to the Delhi public. His primary concern has been to develop Delhi's rural belt. For a capital looking to project itself as one of the modern metros of the world, it does not augur well. And Verma hasn't really done his party proud by stating that the poor can well do without onions. With the party unwilling to risk projecting his leadership, the BJP will be stepping into the electoral arena without naming a chief ministerial candidate. In contrast, during the last election the party had gone all out to project Khurana as the anointed one. While dissension may be the Delhi BJP's bane, the party's central leadership is largely to blame for the current state of affairs. The seeds of discord were sown after Khurana resigned over the hawala issue. He was assured a comeback once his name was cleared in the scandal. But by reneging on its promise, the party high command drove a deep wedge between Khurana and Verma. The opposition Congress, which has 14 MLAs in the 70-member Assembly, is confident of improving its tally. The party not only hopes to benefit from the anti-incumbency factor, but it has also projected state Congress chief Sheila Dikshit as its chief ministerial candidate. "The BJP has always shown us that it cannot govern," says Dikshit. "Now, it's letting us know that even in the art of politics it has much to learn." Dikshit's optimism may have something to do with the fact that she is new to the job. To her credit, the traditional infighting in the party has to some extent been stemmed after her takeover. That in turn is due to the fact that she was personally picked by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to head the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee. It also means that when it comes to the tricky matter of ticket distribution, she will have the full backing of Sonia. Their association goes a long way: Dikshit was the powerful minister of state in Rajiv Gandhi's PMO in the mid-'80s. Also likely to work to her advantage is her suave demeanour. Convent-educated and a product of Delhi University's Miranda House College, she is far more likely to impress the younger and urban voters than Verma. And if Sonia pitches in during the election campaign, the two could turn things around significantly. At the moment though, the state Congress is a bedraggled lot. Since 1991, when it bagged three of the seven Lok Sabha seats, the party has been on a downslide -- winning two seats in 1996 and just one in the elections in March this year. Dikshit herself was humiliated in East Delhi, losing out to a relative lightweight. In contrast, the ruling BJP, which on paper at least is stronger than the Congress, is a hopelessly divided house. Though Verma's 34 months in office may have been singularly uninspiring, the BJP leadership is also wary of rooting for Khurana as it may trigger a mini-revolt. Rajya Sabha member O.P. Kohli, who calls the shots in the state unit and is a close ally of Verma, has made it clear that the party will not be projecting anyone as chief minister. "We feel it will be better that way," he says. The reason is not far to see. After taking over from Khurana, Verma tried to change the face of the Delhi BJP in more ways than one. The new chief minister made no bones that rural Delhi came first on his list of priorities. This assiduous nurturing of the "Jat belt" would have been perfectly alright only if the urban segment had not been neglected. Verma not only failed to rise above routine administration, his lack of vision has today left the city gasping for such essentials as power and water. When Khurana handed over charge, the state Government was unable to recover revenues for 40 per cent of the power that was being supplied. Today, despite improved supplies, the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) is unable to recover 63 per cent of its power dues -- an annual loss of Rs 2,500 crore to the state exchequer. Worse, to make up for the losses, the DVB resorts to indiscriminate load shedding. And the way drinking water is drying up, only a miracle can save Delhi from a water scarcity next summer. Already, instead of the normal 60-70 gallons of water that should be available per person per day, only 15-20 gallons trickle in. If the city's resources have been under tremendous strain, it is also because of the burgeoning population -- by next summer, Delhi would have added a Pondicherry to its population of 1.25 crore. With 30 lakh vehicles and the law of the jungle prevailing on the roads, driving is a nightmare in the capital. Instead of tackling the crisis, Verma's Government has been talking of electric trolley buses, cycle tracks, tramways, imported luxury buses and now even a Metro. The voters are left wondering how many more rides the politicians will take them for. If the roads are a virtual death trap, people are not safe in the confines of their homes either. Murders, daylight dacoities, kidnappings for ransom and rapes have become a daily affair in the city. Even though Verma's Government does not exercise policing powers the voters are more likely associate the soaring crime graph with his rule. Despite his academic background, Verma's tenure has seen about a fifth of the 1,000 state-run schools without principals. About 2,000 posts of teachers are lying vacant. Verma, however, remains unfazed. "What we have achieved is significant," he says. "Delhi will have 50 colleges in five years, will be almost self-sufficient in power and will have better transport. Is this not significant?" While all this may sound like election-eve promises, Verma will need more than a fair share of luck to retain his chair. As his party tries to cover up the mess, the Congress is bent on capitalising on the Verma Government's misrule. The Congress, however, lacks a winning formula. The only weapon in its arsenal at the moment is a fusillade of criticism against the BJP for all the ills plaguing the capital. "We must make the public see that governance goes beyond mere sweeping of streets," says Jag Parvesh Chandra, veteran Congressman and leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly. He promises that his party, if voted to power, would help revitalise Delhi. So far, as Dikshit observes, "the BJP has flattered to deceive". Whether the Congress can draw the winning card and deliver on its promises is an altogether different matter. |
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The onion, many
felt, would prove to be the BJP's nemesis in the elections to the Delhi Assembly this
year. But by the time the party gears up for the November 25 poll, the Rs 40 per kg onions
may well be forgotten and the party will have much more than the spiralling prices of
vegetables to contend with. When the BJP went to the polls in 1993, it was on a roll.
After five uninterrupted years in power, the party is not so sure this time. 
