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A man of action out to prove a point

By Mandira Nayar

The BJP nominee from New Delhi, Jagmohan, talking to the voters in the constituency on Saturday.

NEW DELHI, MAY 1 . Wearing a saffron-and-green cap that hides his characteristic shock of white hair, the Union Tourism and Culture Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from New Delhi, Jagmohan, has not stopped walking even for a minute since seven in the morning. While his supporters and bodyguards stop to catch their breath and wearily keep pace with him on his campaign trail in Gole Market, Delhi's tireless "Demolition Man" is out to prove a point.

"He does not even stop to drink water. He eats and drinks only after he has finished his campaign rounds. People around him sit down for a minute, but he'll keep on walking,'' says an awestruck supporter.

Accompanied by drummers and a jeep with a loudspeaker that announces to the residents to come out and meet the "Saviour of the Taj Mahal", Mr. Jagmohan might not have stirred many residents from their early morning slumber, but it does not matter, believe loyalists. "Just because not very many people have come out to wave at him does not mean that they will not vote for Jagmohan. This is a government colony and people are used to things like this,'' says a resident.

The lack of curiosity and enthusiasm does not seem to bother Mr. Jagmohan either. Confident about his popularity, he tells residents not to get taken in by the "web of lies'' that he claims his Congress rival, Ajay Maken, is "weaving to trap them". "Ask them to point out any boundary wall that they have built during their time. Remember what the condition of the colony was like before I took over. You must think carefully with a cool head whom to vote for. They only had slums all around, do you want to go back to that hell?" he asks the residents.

Promising to replace benches in the parks, provide developed plots for slum-dwellers, write complaints to the Election Commission on missing names from the voters' list and repeat his formula for Vaishno Devi temple in other parts of the country, Mr. Jagmohan strides along smiling. "He does not make any false promises. He is a man of his words. He passed our park in `J' block and saw what condition it was in and the next month he started working on it. Unlike other politicians, he is not the type who will fix anything. If the work you need to do is legal, he will support you. If not, he'll tell you,'' a resident says.

It is a trait that has earned him respect even among people living in slums, which he has steadily been removing. "I will not tell you that I will ensure that you will always live here, so that I can use you as a vote bank. But I will offer you alternate accommodation, which you can proudly call your own. You should think about the future of your children. I met a young man in America who insisted on touching my feet. He told me that his father could start another business only because I relocated him. Why do you want to live in such filth, why don't you move out of here and go to a new place? Visit the resettlement colonies I have set up in Mongolpuri and if you are satisfied then come to see me,'' he promises.

And while a few might refuse to be stirred by his fiery speech, it seems to have touched a chord with the slum-dwellers. "What has the Delhi Government done for us? They laid a pipe for water, but we are still waiting for it. We will shift if Jagmohan asks us to. He does have a point,'' a woman said.

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