Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva has been reaching out to every section of the society in the city, listening to people and raising their concerns. Sachdeva spent his early days in Old Delhi where he attended Commercial School in Darya Ganj. He graduated from Delhi University, and had worked as a journalist in the initial days of his career.

The politician has seen the city and its politics changing with time, and throws light on the current situation in an interview with The Statesman’s Agraj Pratap Singh. He claims that in the upcoming Delhi assembly polls, people are likely to opt for BJP’s double engine government.

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Q: BJP had a historic win in all seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi. What was the reason behind this victory?

A:Without any doubt there are three main reasons behind the historic win of the BJP on all seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi for the third consecutive time. Firstly it is the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under whose guidance we are are working. The people of Delhi have voted for his work and his name. Secondly, our national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, who works to give energy to every party worker, and the lakhs of party workers who worked meticulously during the 85-day long campaign. And the third reason for the win is that the people of Delhi with all their heart blessed PM Modi and his party.

Q: It has been seen that people vote for Arvind Kejriwal and his party in Delhi’s assembly elections and during the parliamentary polls they vote for the BJP. What is your take on that?

A: The BJP has been winning in Lok Sabha polls in the capital and AAP in assembly polls in Delhi, it is something that is a part of history now. This time the people of Delhi have made up their mind to reject the corruption of the Aam Aadmi Party. The balloon of AAP’s lies has burst, be it their theatrics, deception, be it the liquor scam, Jal Board scam and several other issues like the spike in electricity bills etc. People are fed up of the AAP, as their legislators are facing corruption allegations. Earlier AAP used to blame the MCD for civic woes, but now they have been on power for a while in the civic body as well, and as one can see that within half an hour of rain, the city faces waterlogging. The drains have not been cleaned, and there is a suspected scam in desilting as well. People have now seen that for the past almost 26 years, AAP and Congress have looted Delhi. Based on people’s feedback to our party workers, this time Delhi will have a double-engine government under PM Modi’s leadership.

Q: Talking of your newly elected MPs, with the BJP fielding six fresh faces, what do you have to say about these selections?

A: The unique factor about our organisation is that no role or responsibility is permanently established for a person or a worker. We are all party workers and from time to time our role keeps changing. Those who were MPs in the past now have a different role, and those who were workers are now parliamentarians. This switch-over of roles and responsibilities motivates all party workers, as they feel they will get a chance to come forward. Talking of the fresh faces, they could be new in the Lok Sabha but they all have great experience. Kamaljeet Sehrawat had served as a Mayor; Yogendra Chandolia was also a Mayor, had been a standing committee chairman and has a lot of experience regarding Delhi; Harsh Malhotra who is now a minister in the central government, has worked amid public; Bansuri Swaraj is a barrister and has been working for the party for a while and Praveen Khandelwal has been a very important leader of Delhi’s traders and also has been our party’s treasurer. Therefore we feel we have given a chance to such experienced party workers who will serve Delhi very well in times to come.

Q: Not as a politician, but as a common man, a Delhi’ite, what is the situation of the city, as in were things better earlier in terms of civic woes?

A: Being a son of Delhi, born and raised in Old Delhi, living in East Delhi for a while, I have seen the changing times in the city, but it pains me to look at the city in the present situation. I can say that there is a need to make it much better. Try to imagine the situation which existed some years ago when the Eastern and Western Expressways had not been made. Commercial vehicles used to drive past through the city, there would be traffic jams due to trucks, there used to be the smoke emitted by them. Now those heavy vehicles pass by these expressways without entering Delhi, and this convenience is due to Prime Minister Modi. If we look at these things, we can say a lot has been done. However is we look at city’s basics and the civic woes, if we look at the civic bodies, there is a lot to be done in terms of basic facilities. Delhi’s drains are not clean, as the city faces waterlogging and traffic jams in just 30 minutes of rain. Desilting of drains is the work of the city’s civic agency where AAP is in power, and they cannot blame BJP now. Talking of the garbage mountain, the present AAP government had promised to remove it, but it is there. Pollution is a big problem in the city, we all know that with the onset of winter, pollution will increase. When we talk of the Holy Yamuna, where I used to bathe in my younger days, today one cannot step into the river. It gives me a heartache, as crores of rupees given by the Centre have been misplaced due to corruption in the name of cleaning Yamuna. There is a need to work with honest intentions for its improvement.

Q: What is the vision of your newly elected MPs when we talk of addressing the city’s issues like pollution, and how effectively will they raise the city’s concerns in Parliament?

A: Raising issues of the city in Parliament is the role of our MPs and I am sure they will do their work. But the main thing is what is the solution to the issues faced by the city. Whatever has to be done in Delhi, one has to approach the state government. For example, the Centre gave thousands of crore rupees to Delhi for cleaning of Yamuna. Where did that money go? To the Delhi government. To make the city better a vision is required; all agencies have to work together in close coordination. This is why I appeal to the people of the city that having given 15 years to Congress, and 10 to AAP, this time they should give a chance to the doubleengine government of BJP. I can assure that under PM’s leadership we can make Delhi better and the people of the city can be proud of that.

Q: It has been seen that leaders from other parties in Delhi have joined BJP. Is it a sign that things are changing on the city’s political front, and will it benefit BJP in the upcoming elections?

A: BJP is the world’s largest political party and today the entire world respects PM Modi and his leadership. The country’s image in the world is now such that everyone is proud of India. Political leaders here also think that they have to work under PM’s leadership. When they want to join us we welcome them. We welcome people who come with good intentions.

Q: Who is going to be the BJP’s CM face for Delhi?

A: In our recent executive committee meeting we have decided our CM face is our symbol, the lotus flower, and we had made this decision public. All workers will contest the election under the symbol, and the BJP will win. Every party worker walking with the symbol will be our CM.

Q: How has Delhi evolved as a city during the past three decades, also what do you have to say about changing political scenarios here?

A: I have seen Delhi change with time, there is no doubt in that. In the eighties, every house in my lane was like my own. We could go to any house, sit there, pick up and eat whatever we would want. There would be one telephone in the neighborhood, and when the phone rang, they would ask whose call it is and call the person. One home had a colour TV, and the doors were kept open for neighbours to watch. Sadly that environment hardly exists now. Talking of the political scenario, I have seen times when leaders like Madan Lal Khurana, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Kedarnath Sahni, Sahib Singh Verma, Sheila Dikshit, Jag Pravesh Chandra, Jai Prakash Aggarwal and several old leaders could be seen at different places in Connaught Place, having discussions, listening to each other. Despite being political opponents they would listen to each other and had mutual respect. This also happened at the national level; if Atal Bihari Bajpai ji said something, Indira Gandhi ji would listen to him. During Sheila ji’s time also, she used to speak to leaders from different political parties. However, after her there has been a vacuum. The situation has deteriorated after the AAP came into the picture. As we used to say Dilli Dilwalo Ki. Those people are still there, but a little scared now, as they feel if they say something they will be labeled and judged. I feel that with politics, we must also keep up with our cultural values, the culture of Delhi’s Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb, which is slowly fading.

Q: What is the PM’s vision for Delhi?

A: PM’s vision for Delhi is very straight – that it is the country’s capital and must be a developed capital city, and for this he got the Eastern and Western peripheral expressways built, got the Dwarka Expressway and Meerut Expressway made, developed NH 24, got the Kartavya Path made, adding to the city’s beauty. He got the National War memorial built and also the National Police Memorial was made with his vision. The PM museum now showcases every former PM, the statue of Subhash Chandra Bose is at India Gate. To make things even better for Delhi at grass root level, the double engine government will be very effective