In late December, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal offered prayers at the Valmiki Mandir in central Delhi, located in the New Delhi Assembly constituency, which he has represented since 2013. Afterwards, addressing a gathering, he attacked the BJP for being “anti-Dalit”. The audience mainly comprised residents of the nearby Valmiki basti (colony), the majority of whom are Scheduled Castes. With the visit to the temple, he launched his campaign, seeking to win the New Delhi seat for the fourth consecutive time in the upcoming Assembly election in February.
The visit took place against the backdrop of a furore over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s controversial remarks about Dalit icon Dr B.R. Ambedkar during the winter session of Parliament. Kejriwal urged the people to take a pledge that they would not vote for a party that insults Ambedkar.
He attacked the BJP over not having a Chief Ministerial face or a plan or a vision for Delhi and said that the saffron party’s sole agenda was to try and defeat him. He also reminded those present that he had been visiting the place often, in connection with some event or the other.
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The temple holds immense symbolic value for Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as it was there that he began his campaign in 2013 during his electoral debut. He then emerged as a giant killer, defeating the formidable Sheila Dikshit of the Congress and ending her three-term reign as Chief Minister.
In the past three Assembly elections, the Valmiki community has rallied behind the AAP. The Valmikis have traditionally been associated with sanitation works and could relate to the AAP’s party symbol, the broom.
It was only apt that Kejriwal should return to the spot where it all began. It is especially significant since he finds himself in the midst of what promises to be an engrossing triangular contest.
Challenge from Congress, BJP
With Kejriwal and the AAP facing their toughest election in Delhi this time on account of 10 years of anti-incumbency and various allegations of corruption, the Congress and the BJP do not want to give the former Chief Minister a walkover and have fielded heavyweights against him.
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit, the son of Sheila Dikshit, has been given the ticket by the grand old party, while the BJP has nominated Parvesh Verma, son of former Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, for the high-stakes contest.
Sandeep had two consecutive terms as a Member of the Lok Sabha, winning from the East Delhi constituency before he lost in 2014. Squaring up against Kejriwal, he would be hoping to make a comeback to the political centre stage and recover lost political capital.
While Sandeep is likely to hark back to the legacy of his mother’s three-term rule over Delhi and her imprint on the capital’s politics, he is also likely to leverage his candidature to prove a point or two within his own party. In recent years, Sandeep has been on the political sidelines and has gained the image of a contrarian by publicly expressing views that run counter to the thinking of the central leadership.
Kejriwal’s challengers
Sandeep Dikshit
A two-time Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi, the 60-year-old Sandeep was in the non-governmental sector and specialised in research on social development before he entered politics. His campaign is expected to hinge on the legacy of his mother, Sheila Dikshit, and his challenge to Kejriwal will be viewed as a son’s effort to avenge his mother’s defeat.
Parvesh Verma
The 47-year-old Verma is a two-time MP from West Delhi. The son of former Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, he is a prominent Jat face of the BJP in Delhi. He was denied a ticket to contest in the Lok Sabha election this year, much to the ire of the Jat community, which decried the BJP’s decision at a mahapanchayat. The fiery leader has in the past been unsparing in his attacks on Kejriwal.
Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said: “The Congress’ list of candidates makes it clear that the party is no pushover in this election. The candidature of Sandeep Dikshit against Arvind Kejriwal shows that the Congress is taking the fight to the AAP camp.”
Parvesh Verma, a two-time MP from West Delhi, is a prominent Jat face of the BJP in the national capital, and the party hopes his candidature from New Delhi will also have an impact in the seats in outer Delhi, which have a sizeable Jat population.
He is known for his aggressive stance against Kejriwal. In 2020 he had even called Kejriwal a terrorist for supporting the protests at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said, “Arvind Kejriwal is clearly on the back foot this time. He is unable to answer the questions raised by the people. The BJP is directly targeting Kejriwal in this election for having played with the trust of the people of Delhi.”
AAP campaign
On its part, the AAP has been quick to label the fight in the New Delhi constituency as a fight between “Do CM ke bete aur ek Dilli ka beta” (sons of two Chief Ministers versus the son of Delhi). However, AAP leaders do feel that Kejriwal would have to campaign more aggressively this time round as compared to 2020, when his wife, Sunita, held the fort while he campaigned for other AAP candidates.
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AAP’s Delhi convenor Gopal Rai said: “Arvind Kejriwal symbolises the politics of governance. He has delivered what he promised. The other parties cannot claim to have that kind of a proven track record.”
The New Delhi constituency is undoubtedly the most prestigious seat in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha. It derives its importance from its location since it includes Lutyens’ Delhi, the centre of national politics, and it falls under the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat. It came into being in 2008 when, as part of a delimitation exercise, it was carved out of Gole Market and Sarojini Nagar constituencies.
The seat has always been represented by Chief Ministers. Sheila Dikshit held the seat from 2008 to 2013. In 2013, Kejriwal defeated her, polling 44,269 votes to her 18,405 votes.
In 2015, he retained the seat, bagging 57,213 votes, while his closest competitor, the BJP’s Nupur Sharma, got only 25,630 votes. He won again in 2020, securing 46,758 votes to defeat the BJP’s Sunil Yadav by 21,697 votes.
This time round, Kejriwal may not have it that easy in the battle for New Delhi.
