Another sadhvi woos Dalits ahead of Delhi polls

NEW DELHI: BJP's public meeting at Sawan Park had yet another sadhvi addressing the crowd, but this time nothing controversial was said nor was there anything religious about it. The MP from Bahraich, Sadhvi Savitri Bai Phule, was there to woo Dalits by highlighting achievements of the Centre and asked for a clear majority for BJP to form a government in Delhi.

Sadhvi Savitri, who is being touted as the new Dalit face in Indian politics, was an apt choice for BJP to address the jan sabha at Jailerwala Bagh slum, which has 3,200 votes, as a majority of the residents are Dalits from Uttar Pradesh. After reaching two hours late, she tried to strike a chord with the poorvanchali vote bank by attacking all political parties.

In her 20-minute speech she said, "People came to Delhi thinking of getting better facilities. But what Samajwadi Party has done with poor people in UP, Congress and AAP have done here. They have failed to provide basic facilities. AAP only made tall claims, but when it came to delivering on their promises they ran away."

Savitri elaborated on various schemes, including the Jan Dhan Yojna launched by the Centre. "You should make use of the schemes launched by our government. Lakhs of people have benefited from it," she said. She also reminded people that the previous government had inaugurated a housing project in the area nearly a decade ago, but work is yet to start.

Even as Savitri was promising housing for poor, better road and continues water supply to the slum dwellers and asking them to vote for BJP, women quietly slipped out the meeting.

She concluded speech saying, "Main aachal phaila ke aapse vote maang rahi hoon. Yeh bheekh nahi karz hai."

Located right behind an upscale residential colony, there is no approach road to the slum. There are no streetlights. Women say the area is extremely unsafe. They have to go out to defecate in the open after sundown as there is just one community toilet. "The public toilet is very dirty. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan has failed to make an impact here," said Satpati, who has been living in the slum for the past eight years.

Ahead of the assembly elections, BJP is trying hard to make a dent in AAP's strongholds like slums and unauthorized colonies through these meetings. In the last polls, BJP got just 200-odd votes while the AAP candidate got the maximum votes from this area.