Delhi civic polls: BJP, Cong, AAP pull out stops to woo Purvanchalis
With fewer than two weeks to go for the civic polls in Delhi, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to woo one of the city’s most influential voter communities, the Purvanchalis, who constitute around 30-35% of voters in the city.
The term ‘Purvanchalis’ refers to Delhi residents who trace their familial roots to eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. They are estimated to make up over a quarter of Delhi’s two crore population. In the pre-poll tug-of-war, former Congress MP and an influential leader of the Purvanchali community, Mahabal Mishra, joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday.
Shifting allegiance
“Under the Sheila Dikshit government, basic infrastructure such as sewer network, water pipelines, roads were launched, especially in the trans-Yamuna area, home to a sizeable Purvanchali population. Therefore, a large chunk of the populace remained in the Congress camp. But it all began to change after 2015, when the AAP govt, with its schemes like free electricity up to 200 units, basic primary healthcare facilities and, most importantly, improvement in school education, managed to capture this fluid vote base,” said Manoj Mishra, a senior journalist, who has covered Delhi politics for more than four decades.
“They are an aspirational class who have come to the city seeking a better life. So, the traditional factors, like caste and religion, don’t really work with them. They measure a government’s performance purely in terms of deliverables and how it has affected their lives. This is where the AAP has managed to strike a balance,” Mishra added.
The aspirational class
Ajay Gudavarthy, assistant professor, Centre for Political Studies, JNU, explained why the community has shifted towards AAP despite repeated attempts by the BJP. He said that since the formation of the AAP government in 2015, there had been a concerted attempt by the regime to ensure that welfare measures reach the masses. The BJP’s attempt to mobilise Purvanchalis purely based on their identity has not yielded dividends. In a city like Delhi, individual and group identities take a back seat and there is always an ‘aspirational element’ with the migrant population, Gudavarthy said.
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Concepts like ‘development’, ‘growth’ and ‘cultural identity’ don’t appeal to them as they face an existential crisis. This is where AAP has come to their rescue with major welfare schemes. They now identify themselves with the AAP regime, underlined the scholar.
How the ‘Delhi Model’ struck a chord
Vipin Jha, an auto driver from Bihar’s Champaran, said: “Kejriwal has made good schools in Delhi where both rich and poor study together. He has made education free to all and has provided uniforms and books to students without any charge. Soon labourers’ children will become doctors and engineers. There are many like me who seek a good upbringing for our children. We will vote for AAP in the upcoming MCD polls. Kejriwal needs to be given a chance to clean up Delhi.”
AAP’s three big cultural push
With its three big cultural pushes, AAP has managed to solidify its Purvanchali vote base.
Delhi government had made a special provision of Rs 20 crore in its 2017-18 budget for development of ghats for Chhath, the most popular festival of the Purvanchalis.
The Arvind Kejriwal government had announced special camps for kanwariya (the devotees of Lord Shiva, who collect water from the Ganga at Haridwar to offer at Shiva temples in their areas as part of the yatra). These devotees majorly belong to the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Haryana.
In 2019, the Delhi government had also announced several steps to promote Bhojpuri and Maithili, including the teaching of Maithili from Class 8 to Class 12 and arranging free coaching to IAS aspirants who choose it as an optional subject.
BJP’s concerted attempt
The BJP, on its part, has been trying to woo this strong voter base by targeting AAP over the issue of Chhath Puja being celebrated in the Yamuna’s toxic water. During the festival this year, BJP’s social media team cornered AAP on the issue. Hoping that it will pay dividends in the upcoming civic polls, the party ran a campaign on social media highlighting the condition of Yamuna and slamming AAP for its failure to live up to its promise of cleaning the river in a time-bound manner. Anuja Kapur, Delhi BJP spokesperson, had raised the issue during an interaction with The Federal.
BJP President JP Nadda, who addressed a crucial meeting involving leaders from the Purvanchali community, took stock of their concerns and promised to look into issues such as regularisation of unauthorised colonies and solve the Yamuna problem. “Important leaders from Purvanchal are in Delhi to catapult BJP’s campaign. We will do everything to resolve their problems,” said Yaser Jilani, national media-incharge of BJP.
Congress’ overtures
The Congress has also roped in regional leaders to lead their campaign in Delhi. Leaders are also reminding the Purvanchalis about Sheila Dikshit’s tenure as the CM and how much development she brought to their doorstep in unauthorised colonies.
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The Congress was the first to give provisional certificates to such colonies by satellite mapping, reminded a Congress leader during a mass rally. The party’s vision document states that the MCD-2022 election provides an opportunity to replace the BJP-AAP duo.
The final edifice
Unfazed by the overtures by the BJP and the Congress, AAP remains convinced of the Purvanchalis’ support. “BJP has always insulted people from the Purvanchal region. Events such as disrupting Chhath arrangements in South Delhi to BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s aggression towards the community bear testimony to this,” said Dilip Pandey, AAP MLA from Timarpur during an exclusive interaction with The Federal.
“BJP only sought votes, but hasn’t worked for their welfare. Whereas the Purvanchalis have directly benefited from AAP’s welfare schemes and have seen the benefits of upward social mobility. That’s why the group has shown its support for AAP in the upcoming civic polls,” Pandey added.
Parties have tacitly acknowledged the community’s growing strength in the city. On December 4, when the Purvanchalis vote to assert themselves, the outcome of their move will be keenly watched.
