Gujjars to decide fate of the Tanwars

Gujjars hold the key in Delhi’s Chhatarpur constituency, which is currently witnessing a battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Congress.

The parties have also fielded Gujjar candidates with the same surname – Tanwar.
BJP’s Brahm Singh Tanwar had won the seat in the 2013 election by defeating former Congress MLA Balram Tanwar.

This time, BJP and Congress have retained the candidates, while AAP has fielded Kartar Singh Tanwar.

Though AAP has been gaining popularity through former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, locals say the main fight is between BJP and Congress.

BJP’s Brahm was elected from Mehrauli constituency in 1993 and 1998 elections, but lost to Congress in 2003. Congress’ Balram had also won in 2008.

AAP’s Kartar is a known face here as he was a BJP councillor before joining the party.
“We are well aware that he left the BJP and joined AAP on realising that he was not getting ticket from BJP. He is an opportunist just fighting for power,” says Amit Sinha, who runs a shop in Chhatarpur.

AAP had fielded Rishi Pal in 2013, but he has been removed for finishing third. Now, the party giving ticket to a former BJP leader has not gone down well with the local AAP supporters.

BJP’s Brahm Singh Tanwar told Deccan Herald that Kartar’s decision will backfire as the AAP and Kejriwal are just looking to gain Gujjar community’s attention.

“Kejriwal has just looked at caste, money and muscle power to win the seat at any cost,” Brahm said.
Kejriwal was also pelted with rotten eggs and tomatoes when he recently went to the constituency for campaigning. Kejriwal had blamed BJP for the attack.

However, the BJP claims that Kejriwal himself orchestrated the attack to gain voters’ sympathy.

The constituency is home to some of the richest people in the capital who own farmhouses, apart from farmers and other villagers.

But most of the farmers earn more from real estate than farming. Most of the villages have also retained the laid-back life of the rural areas.

“The village elders still command a lot of respect. They decide what is good or bad for rest of the people in their villages. Many villages still have khap panchayats,” says Dheera Rekhi, who runs a call centre in Fatehpur Beri.

Lack of amenities
Locals say that rural parts of Chhatarpur still lack many basic amenities like water, drainage, bigger roads and sewerage.

During rain these parts get flooded.
There are many unauthorised colonies in the area due to which the political parties are promising to regularise them if voted to power.