Neglected Okhla holds out hope for BJP

NEW DELHI: Attacking Congress for the poor state of affairs in the Okhla constituency , BJP candidate Dhir Singh Bidhuri said: "Despite 55 years of Congress rule, this constituency has not got anything —be it good roads, drinking water or transport. Nothing has been done to improve the living conditions in JJ clusters and unauthorized colonies. It is time for change and Okhla should not be left behind. It will be a historic occasion when Okhla will elect a BJP candidate."

BJP’s rally on Saturday started from a JJ colony and moved to Madanpur Khadar, Sarita Vihar, Priyanka Camp and Ali Vihar colonies before culminating at Ali Gaon. It threw traffic out of gear as nearly 4,500 supporters joined the march.

The electoral battle in the Okhla constituency is getting exciting with BJP sensing its first chance to secure a foothold in the Muslim-dominated area. With 13 Muslim candidates out of 18, and RJD sitting MLA Asif Md Khan defecting to Congress, the votes would be thinly spread. As it is, the community is divided in its support for Congress because of the Batla encounter.

The sitting MLA had blamed Congress for the encounter in 2008 and rode to power on the sympathy wave. BJP is banking on the constituencies of Sarita Vihar, New Friends Colony, Jasola, Ali Goan, Taimur Nagar and Madanpur Khadar, while the minority community in Batla House and Jamia Nagar are showing a tilt towards JD(U)’s Shoaib Danish.

Shadab Husain, a local businessman, said, “The Batla House encounter is still fresh in our minds. Our present MLA led many of our protests against the ‘fake encounter'. He has now crossed over to the other side and we are not going to vote for him again.” The sentiment was echoed by many, including Jamia Nagar resident Iqbal,who said their votes will be a message to Congress. The Okhla constituency has a significant Muslim vote share. The community seems divided between JD(U),Congress,BSP and AAP.