Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief Devender Yadav is counted as one of the prominent politicians in the national capital. He is also the party in-charge for Punjab, and had served as MLA from Badli constituency in the Delhi Assembly.
In an interview with Santu Das of The Statesman, Yadav talks about the INDIA bloc performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the Congress’ preparations for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls and the party’s vision for the national capital. The Delhi polls are scheduled to be held early next year.
Q: Despite being in an alliance, the Congress and the AAP could not win even a single seat in Delhi in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. What according to you went wrong?
A: This was an alliance which was taken in the national interest. We had a very good campaign and candidates, but it did not convert into seats. Although we tried our best but somewhere down the line, coordination was not as per expectations. There were a few incidents, especially from the side of the Aam Aadmi Party, like the (alleged assault) of Swati Maliwal, which went totally against us. The Maliwal factor did affect the common people. The AAP leadership was almost in jail; that could have been another reason. In general, maybe there was not that much acceptability of the alliance among the people. In Punjab, we decided to go alone and we did fairly well. We secured seven out of 13 seats and the AAP was reduced to three seats which clearly indicates that people actually might not be liking the AAP the way they used to.
Q: In the midst of the general election, a senior Delhi Congress leader severed ties with the party. He also raised questions on the selection of candidates. What led to Congress’ dismal performance in Delhi for the third consecutive time?
A: I really do not agree with that because all the three candidates have different backgrounds. One of the candidates, Jai Prakash Aggarwal is a very experienced leader; the other one, Kanhaiya Kumar is an activist and stood strongly on issues. If we talk about Udit Raj, he is also an activist. He had been an MP earlier. He has been raising issues of social justice. We tried to have that balance wherein experience and activism was taken into consideration. But, somewhere I feel overdependence of our leadership on the AAP cost us dear.
Q: You have been accusing the AAP government in Delhi of misgovernance and corruption. You wrote to the CVC. On the other hand, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi led a protest of the INDIA bloc at Parliament where slogans were raised demanding release of Kejriwal.
A: The Congress is dead against corruption and at whatever level it happens, we will oppose it, whether it is at the state or central level. As far as that demonstration (in Parliament) is concerned, it was against the misuse of government machinery by the BJP government. When these two arrests (Arvind Kejriwal and JMM chief Hemant Soren) were made, the timing had to be taken into consideration. They were facing these charges long back, but as soon as the elections were around, they were arrested. The timing itself raises a question whether this was right or wrong. I would again say let the court decide who is right and wrong, and we will stand by that.
Q: What is the status of the Congress alliance with AAP in Delhi and at the national level? Will your party continue with the alliance in the upcoming state polls?
A: We are going all alone. We are very much prepared as far as the party organization is concerned. We are trying to find out the loopholes and fill those gaps. We have been very strongly raising the issues concerning the people. This is what the people expect from a strong opposition. I would like to mention that the case in which Kejriwal had gone to jail was actually raised by the Congress. A drama had been going on between the AAP and the BJP, wherein one party is deep in corruption and the other keeps shut without opposing it. As a true Opposition, the Congress has been bringing corruption to the fore.
Q: Will there be any post poll alliance with the AAP?
A: It is too early. I am very sure we will contest all the 70 Assembly seats. Even if somebody from the AAP approaches us, we are very firm on our stand that we would go all alone.
Q: How do you see the work of the Arvind Kejriwal government as compared to the previous Congress regime?
A: The Kejriwal government has completely failed. They had made big promises. They used to say they were crusaders against corruption and today, the situation is totally different, the chief minister is in jail on charges of corruption. Today, we see the city government is only interested in bringing Kejriwal out of jail. They are no more concerned about people’s issues. They were supposed to deliver good governance in which they completely failed.
Q: How is your party gearing up for the Delhi polls? How many seats is the party eyeing? Who will be the chief ministerial face of the party?
A: Again it is too early for that. We are working hard. We are committed to contest all the 70 seats. We are trying to formulate a very good vision document for Delhi. We are prepared with issues and leadership, and are expecting to form the next government.
Q: What is Congress’ roadmap for Delhi?
A: We are reaching out to people. Over time, we have felt that development is nowhere seen in Delhi. In the last 10 years, not even a single big project has been sanctioned. We will provide good medical facilities and infrastructure to city residents. People are facing water shortage and we will try to provide them with potable water.
Q: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also gearing up for the Delhi assembly polls and hoping to oust the AAP. Your comments.
A: The AAP and BJP are hand in glove. When the AAP indulges in corruption in Delhi, the BJP wears a blindfold.