'Everyone knows her husband is a criminal'

Former North Delhi Mayor Azad Singh lost the 2013 Delhi Assembly polls to an independent candidate from Mundka constituency, which was the Bharatiya Janata Party’s stronghold. Once again the BJP has fielded Azad Singh from Mundka.

Singh is the brother of late Sahib Singh Verma, former Delhi chief minister. This 63-year-old politician is popularly known as ‘Master’ Azad Singh as he used to be a teacher.
He tells Avinash Singh Sudan that the BJP will retain its traditional seat. Excerpts from an interview:

You think people of the constituency will vote for you?
I am 100 per cent confident that they will surely vote for us. We have done so much work in the constituency which have made life easier here. How can they forget that?

Then why did you lose last time?
Everybody knows last time’s winning candidate (Rambir Shokeen) distributed gifts. The poor got swayed away and voted in his favour.

What has changed now?
After winning, he never went to the area. People are not going to vote for him again. And other parties don’t have any candidate who has spent so much time in the constituency like the BJP.

Speaking of other parties, Rambir Shokeen’s wife is contesting on a Congress ticket.
It doesn’t matter. Everybody has seen that he (her husband) is a criminal, that is why he didn’t get a ticket from any party. So he has made his wife stand in these elections. But that doesn’t change a thing.

Is it true that Rambir Shokeen had approached the BJP for a ticket?
Yes, but there is no place for hooligans like him in the party. The BJP will never take such people who had declared in official affidavits that there were three cases of electricity theft on them. He was recently involved in helping a prisoner escape from jail. He was too busy in criminal activities that he didn’t have time for dealing with issues affecting the area.

What are those issues?
Drinking water, sewage and proper outfall of drains.

How are you planning to garner votes?
We are conducting both door-to-door campaigns and padyatras. We are meeting everyone in the area. Even after losing last elections, we went to thank people for their support.

You think the Modi wave will help you in these elections?
Yes, it will and the BJP will form the government in Delhi with full majority. People should vote on the basis of development and the BJP is all for sustainable development. We got four maternity centres here besides allopathic and homoeopathic dispensaries. An underpass and a stadium is getting ready.