Centre's move big boost for Delhi BJP

Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay said, "It is a serious issue but previous governments have failed to address it. Now that our government has extended the protection to all properties (constructed till June 1, 2014) till December 2017, we want the Delhi administration to lift the ban on registry of properties in these colonies. We have asked the government to regularize colonies on 'as is where is basis'."

AAP's aggressive campaign to consolidate its vote-bank in slums and unauthorized colonies has been a serious concern for BJP, which didn't make any substantial gains in these areas in the past two elections. BJP members say the protection from sealing and demolition will be a big gain for people here

. "Congress despite being in power both at the Centre and in the state didn't extend the protection to properties which have come up in the past seven years. Similarly, AAP did nothing for the unauthorized colonies while it was in power," said Upadhyay, who is confident that this move will work in his party's favour.

Questioning the timing of the decision, Congress has called the move a "political gimmick" before the polls. "Congress was the first to give protection to these colonies. While we were working on a comprehensive regularization policy, BJP has no plan. If they were serious about regularization, the government would have come up with a policy in the past six months. We had cleared 895 colonies for regularization,'' said Haroon Yusuf, senior Congress member.

It was AAP that benefited majorly from the split in the Congress vote bank in both assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The latest development is likely to hurt AAP, which is mostly banking on slum and unauthorized colonies to return to power.

But AAP denies it. "People are not fools. They understand why BJP is doing it right now. This has been done keeping Delhi elections in mind.

If they were serious, they should have worked out a policy for regularization of unauthorized colonies in the past six months. By extending the deadline, they have just postponed the action. This is not a solution. So far as revising the cut-off date is concerned, it should have been extended till the date of notification," said Manish Sisodia, a senior member.

But the Centre's decision could help BJP argue it has put regularization on its governance

agenda and bank on the party's poll successes under Modi to woo voters. BJP would also argue that neither Congress or AAP paid much attention to implementing decisions to regularize colonies while in office.