As BJP takes a lead in the polls against AAP and Congress, residents voice their expectations from the party.
With clear indications that Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to win municipal elections by a majority in Delhi, the party is set to rule the municipal bodies consecutively for a third time.
The Delhi State Election Commission conducted polls in 270 municipal wards out of the 272 wards. Although the final result is yet to be announced, BJP was leading 181 wards while Congress and Aam Aadmi Party were leading in 31 and 46 wards respectively according to reports.
To find out what residents expect from the party, City Spidey spoke to a few of them. BS Vohara, president of RWA joint forum East Delhi, says, “Residents have given a huge mandate to BJP and we expect that they will fulfil all promises. Open dhalaos [garbage collection points] are one of our major concerns and they have promised to remove them.”
“They should decide their work for the first 100 days and it should be action-oriented without any delays. People of the city given them a huge mandate and it’s their turn to do their job. Although all winning councillors are new faces but the party has been ruling the MCDs for the last 15 years. They are aware of all the issues and it shouldn’t take them long to start giving some positive results,” says, Atul Goel, a member of United Residents of Joint Action (URJA), a South Delhi-based apex body of RWAs.
Some residents, however, do not expect much from the party. K Pashupathy, a senior managing committee member of East End Apartments, Mayur Vihar Phase I Extension, says, “Based on the civic services provided outside the society in the last 15 years, residents do not have many expectations. We had some issues which we discussed with the candidates during the campaign. We will again approach Rajni Pandey, our winning candidate.”
Purusottam Bhatt, president of United India Apartments, a cooperative group housing society (CGHS) in Mayur Vihar Phase 1 Extension, says, “Residents of housing societies hardly put their demands before municipal councillors. We have our own governing body [managing committee] to look after the issues. CGHS residents pay around 70 percent of the total house tax but have been ignored. I hope this attitude changes now.”