‘Cadre, not Gautam Gambhir, helped BJP win in trans-Yamuna’
By Our Correspondent
New Delhi, December 7: Trans-Yamuna helped the Bharatiya Janata Party come out with prestige impact even after losing the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). While the accolades are pouring for the two trans-Yamuna Lok Sabha MPs, Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwari, the Delhi unit of the BJP leaders credit the win in the wards to the party cadre and the after effects of the North-east Delhi riots.
The BJP won 22 of the 38 municipal wards in the Lok Sabha constituency of Gambhir, former Indian opening batsman. The BJP had previously won 29 wards in the constituency. The BJP similarly won big in the Lok Sabha constituency of Manoj Tiwari, former chief of the Delhi unit of the party.
“We have strong cadre in the trans-Yamuna, who held their fort in the MCD elections. The polarization factor also worked in favour of the BJP. The North-east Delhi riots still continue to be a factor, which polarized the voters in the trans-Yamuna areas,” said a senior Delhi BJP functionary.
He also stated that the BJP had not yielded to the demands of Gambhir for the ticket distribution in the MCD elections. “If the party had acceded to his (Gambhir) demand, the BJP would have lost a dozen municipal wards. Gambhir also did not campaign in all the municipal wards in his Lok Sabha constituency,” said another Delhi BJP leader. Gambhir has been organizing Rs 1 a meal in his constituency and also cricket tournaments. The BJP faced outright defeat in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Meenakshi Lekhi, Parvesh Verma and others came out
Delhi BJP vice president Virendra Sachdeva, meanwhile, while speaking to The Raisina Hills, said: “The BJP may have won the MCD elections if the Delhi government had not rigged the voters’ lists just days ahead of the elections. The voters who live abroad had their names in the electoral roll, but those who are staying found their names missing. This was done as part of a design, and the BJP strongholds were targeted.”
Sachdeva also said that the corruption charges resonated with the electorate in the MCD elections, as the BJP scored big wins in the constituencies of the AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Kailash Gehlot, Amanullah Khan, Akhilesh Tripathi, “who all are facing corruption charges”.
About The Author
