Kondli gives Cong nominee hope of comeback this time

Congress leader and former deputy speaker Amrish Singh Gautam is confident of making a comeback in Kondli Assembly constituency, that came into being after delimitation of 2008.

The area has never seen a saffron wave and Aam Aadmi Party has a tough job of convincing the voters that it didn’t win by fluke.

 Gautam who had to cede this East Delhi’s reserved seat to the Aam Aadmi Party’s Manoj Kumar in the December 2013 Assembly polls is telling voters that the AAP has derailed the constituency’s development.

The three-time MLA – two times from neighbouring Patparganj constituency – claims that his people-friendly image and long history with the place will help him come back to power.

Gautam was defeated by political rookie from the AAP by over 12,000 votes in the last Assembly elections.

 His competitor from the BJP Hukum Singh is a new face, and comes as a replacement for the saffron party’s two-time candidate Dushyant Kumar Gautam.

The constituency comprises of resettlement colonies, slums and rural pockets like Khichripur Colony, Indira Camp, Gharoli, Ghazipur, Dallupura and Harijan Basti.

Cleanliness, drainage, poor roads, traffic woes are crucial polls issues in these areas.
Local residents also complain of rising crime rate and falling educational standards.
“The first priority should be to tackle traffic jams. Metro has come to Mayur Vihar phase II and Vinod Nagar, but our constituency has for long been neglected,” Ramesh Rana, a resident of Dallupura, said.

Sanjeev Verma, a resident of Khichripur, complains that the constituency is largely untouched by development going on in neighbouring areas like Noida and Patparganj.

“People have seen my work. I had pushed for mono-rail in Kondli and started development projects, like construction of schools and colleges,” Gautam said, claiming that the AAP government has discontinued all the social welfare schemes started by the Congress government.

The Congress leader has put up posters asking both BJP and AAP about Congress’ Ladli Yojna and Bhagidari scheme. The posters also mock the rivals and ask them about their promises of cheap electricity and free water.

“They are promised moon. So people thought of giving them a chance,” Gautam said.
Outgoing AAP MLA, who is seeking re-election, talks about the unfinished business. He claimed that he got approval for polytechnic and a girl school in his constituency when his government was in power for 49 days.

He also said that he had a meeting with the Police Commissioner B S Bassi about the law and order situation in the area.

For Kumar his key priorities are bringing Metro connectivity, improving delivery of healthcare and education, and finding a solution for the trash mountain at Ghazipur.
“The height of the landfill has increased from 40 meters to 80 meters. I fear that it will create cancer problems,” he said.

But when asked whether the Congress leader poses a challenge this time, he said, “My fight is with Modi, not with anybody.”