Delhi polls 2015: Rahul Gandhi pulls crowd at roadshow, but voters yet to make up mind

NEW DELHI: Led by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Congress' first roadshow of this poll season was aimed squarely at its core constituency of low-income neighbourhoods. Taking an overtly pro-poor agenda of cheap electricity, water and shelter for all to the slums of Kalkaji Extension and low-income neighbourhoods in Govindpuri on Tuesday, the 'Grand Old Party' tried to solder bonds broken in the 2013 assembly elections.

Crowds lined the path to catch a glimpse of Rahul and zestful supporters holding the Congress flag completed the picture of a show of strength. Congress termed the response a 'morale booster' before its two big rallies on Friday and Sunday, but whether this seeming groundswell of support translates into votes remains to be seen. Rahul Gandhi's rally in Shastri Park, east Delhi on Friday and Sonia Gandhi's rally in Badarpur on Sunday will also test the party's popularity.

The roadshow firmly put the focus on Congress' new command team in the city. Former MP and now contestant from Sadar Bazar, Ajay Maken, and Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Arvinder Singh shared space with Rahul on a truck during the show.

By routing the roadshow through slums and low-income colonies in a predominantly middle-class constituency, Congress showed its intent to target both AAP and BJP. AAP caught the imagination of slum voters last time, while the middle class, which also sided with AAP in 2013, had turned into a saffron support base by the time the Lok Sabha elections came around in April 2014.

Launching the roadshow from a resettlement colony set up by and named after former PM Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul waved at the crowd, bending forward to shake hands, and accepted garlands and scarves against the security protocol. His cavalcade penetrated the congestion of three slum clusters and went past an under-construction 'in situ' rehabilitation project for the slum residents before emerging on the main road along the low-income and middle-income colonies. The choice was a clear attempt to present a Congress that is seeking to reconnect with its traditional voters who felt ignored over the years and crossed over to AAP last time.

That the gap Congress is trying to bridge is huge came through as TOI spoke to residents of Rajiv Colony. Bimla Devi was one of the many women who had lined up to see Rahul. Asked about Congress' prospects, she said, "We have voted for it many times but this time I will think before I vote". Her reservations are rooted in the poor civic conditions she lives in: filthy surroundings with no sewer and a stinking open drain.

For many, the choice here is between AAP and Congress, and the issues range from corruption to lack of sanitation, delayed ownership rights for those in the resettlement and uncertainty about getting a house in the 'in situ' rehabilitation project that was announced by the Congress government in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha polls but took off only last year. The first round of allotments is still at least a year and a half away.