Municipal polls: Anti-incumbency wave against Aam Aadmi Party

New Delhi: Alley talks and debates have begun on the streets of New Delhi as the national capital is set to have its municipal corporation elections this year. Although no date has been announced as to when the election will kick-off, residents here have already begun deliberating as to whom to vote for.

Corners of Old Delhi are not only a major hub of tourist attraction due to its archaeological sites, but also varied lanes dedicated to wholesale and retail markets for items such as electronics, garments, spices, jewellery and health equipment, medicines. Each lane of Chawri Bazar, Chandini Chowk, and Sadar Bazar have hundreds, if not thousands of sellers and traders. In the two years since the beginning of the pandemic, business operations and income generation of local traders have been affected deeply and a feeling of anit-incumbency and resentment against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government is evident.

The capital has experienced numerous lockdowns, restrictions which have not only angered the localities but have also induced a feeling of detestation amongst the small-time vendors. With the municipal elections at the footstep, the Arvind Kejriwal led AAP has begun its promotional activities to gain a foothold in the municipal wards as well. Delhi has 272 municipal seats divided into three divisions of North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has dominated the municipal elections for close to a decade, however, the party did not win any seats in the Municipal bypolls elections which were held in 2021. While AAP took away four out of five seats, Congress won only one seat. The crowd of the Old Delhi, however, seems to be polarised between choosing a clear favourite for the municipal elections. While on one hand there are equal supporters of both Congress and AAP, most traders and local businessmen are largely in favour of the BJP.

34-year-old Mohan Prakash, who runs a textile business in the lanes of Ballimaran, says, "The so-called beautification of Chandini Chowk was not required. What we need is additional space for parking, safety against theft and security and widening of the interior roads. The on-and-off restriction on business operations would force us to pull down the shutters."

Sharing similar sentiments, Balwan Kumar, an artificial jewellery trader at Dariba Kalan, says that the reported incidents of theft have increased to a record high in the past one year alone. He complained that each shopkeeper has installed their own CCTV camera in and around the shop, since the government installed CCTV cameras do not function.