The Hindu : A one-sided contest in Mukhi's turf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003

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A one-sided contest in Mukhi's turf

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI NOV. 25 . In the Janakpuri constituency, it has been a one-sided contest till date. This year's polls assume significance in view of the fact that the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, is making a bid to create history. Having won twice in a row from this constituency, Mr. Mukhi is seeking to score a hat trick. He faces an obstacle in his old rival, Shiv Kumar Sondhi of the Congress, who is also desperately looking for a win.

A traditional BJP stronghold, the Janakpuri constituency has a mix of businessmen, traders, Baniya and Punjabi community who play an important role in deciding the winner. The shrinking civic facilities and the blatant commercialisation of the entire area has become a cause of concern among the people who are looking at local problems more than the national issues. Knowing the pulse of the people, even the leaders of both the Congress and the BJP are raking up local issues with the electorate. While Mr. Mukhi is seeking votes in the name of the work done by him during the past decade for the constituency, Mr. Sondhi is accusing his rival of doing little for the area and catering to a very small section of the population. At the same time, he is also highlighting the achievements of the Sheila Dikshit Government and is seeking votes in the name of development and good governance in Delhi.

"The people of the constituency know very well what I have done during the last decade. I have been accessible to the people and have worked towards solving the water problem, construction of new parks and community centres and upgrading the road network. Last but not the least, I have not allowed the Congress to raise its ugly head in the constituency and promote liberal availability of liquor. No new liquor shop has been allowed to be opened in the past five years despite pressures from various sections,'' Mr. Mukhi stated. He dismisses the Congress challenge and terms Mr. Sondhi's election as a non-starter. I have defeated him in the past by a convincing margin and I will defeat him this time also by a much bigger margin, he claimed.

In the 1993 elections, Mr. Mukhi had defeated Shalinder of Congress by 16,053 votes polling 62.54 per cent of the total votes. This lead got reduced in 1998 when Mr. Mukhi defeated, Mr. Sondhi, by 7,700 votes, polling 55.86 per cent of the total votes. In the 1998 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had led in the constituency by 14,610 votes. However, the lead got reduced to 585 votes in the last year's MCD polls. But Mr. Mukhi feels that it is different ball game in the Assembly polls and he is confident of getting a third consecutive term.

However, Mr. Sondhi has something else up his sleeve. He accuses Mr. Mukhi of being absent from Janakpuri and staying in Chanakyapuri instead. Having learnt a lesson after his previous defeat, Mr. Sondhi is doing everything possible to avoid past mistakes including trusting his own party men. It is learnt that the sitting party Councillor, Sanjay Puri, who was also a ticket seeker from this seat, is reportedly unhappy and is not taking part in the campaign, a fact that has been brought to the notice of the party leadership. This could damage Mr. Sondhi's chances at the hustings. The constituency looks to be a fit case of Congressmen digging their own grave without outside help.

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