By Saiyed Danish, TwoCircles.net,
The last Karnataka state assembly elections witnessed the pitch battle of biggest parties of India – the Congress party and the BJP. In that election other parties had also threw their hats in the ring but there was one party whose progress graph looked like what could be believed as the launch pad of a big leap in the future - Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) - which had tightly held its line of defence on securing third and fourth position in the 24 seats in the state which were contested by a dozen candidates.
This Delhi Assembly election the party it taking yet another plunge 1000 kms away from its Bangalore headquarters by fielding a leather business man Javed Akhlaqui from Kirari assembly constituency in the National Capital of Delhi.
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In a small township of Mubarakpur in North-West Delhi, Javed (45), sits cosily before the backdrop of two of his party flags hanging from the wall. Sitting on a chair in his humble house, he envisions his dream of bringing change in the area if the voters choose him as their next MLA.
“Our biggest agenda is to improve education and make it accessible to poor children. I believe that without the base of education awareness about different issues cannot be raised our society,” he says.
He also expressed his worry about the lack of sanitation and cleanliness. “I am very pained by the unhygienic conditions here and equally resolved to solve it. There are no sewers or drinking water as the colonies here are unauthorized. Kirari has become the breeding ground for diseases and so the people want somebody who can cure such problems of theirs. I had also contested from ward in the municipal corporation elections in hope to address the voice of the local people here in the MCD. So when I heard about SDPI and its hardwork and contributions towards society in the country I decided to join the party and serve it,” he says.
Anil Jha, the incumbent BJP MLA from Kirari constituency has claimed that he has spent 630 crore of rupees on repairing or building 4200 roads and streets and even Limca Book of Records approached him for this feat. However, Javed rubbishes such claims and taunts that all funds have been “buried beneath the ground” and roads are not made by him but central government.
Kirari is a constituency where most of the inhabitants comprises of migrants workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Javed assures that the migrant workers will get their rights and their wellbeing is a duty of the party.
While mentioning the schemes of the government he says that ‘Aaganbadi’ reached Kirari but due to lack of awareness and political will of the present MLA, most of the women could not afford it.
Despite representing a party which is based in South India and carries the ‘outside’ tag in electoral jargon Javed is confident of victory.
“The party is new but I am not. There is no sense of alienation in the mind of people. We are getting along well with the people here. We have also given preference to the issue of Chhath festival. Since there is no community pool available, our Poorvanchali brothers have to dig pools in front of their homes which is a poor option health-wise. We have promised them all to build a common pool in the locality to solve this problem,” he asserts.
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When asked about why the SDPI has fielded a lone candidate in Delhi, he quipped that his party is cadre based and has hence they only field candidates where they have reasonable presence on ground.
Delhi has traditionally seen direct fight between Congress and BJP, with few pockets going to independent or other regional parties. The foray of Aam Aadmi Party appears to make the fight triangular.
Javed, however, appears confident and says that he has spent his time with the people in last five years compared to BJP MLA or other contenders.
In two weeks from now we will know in whom the people of Kirari rests their faith.