In Kalkaji, ‘Dilli ki ladki’ Alka Lamba pitches development under Congress

Sharing a brief account of her political career — she was 19 when she was elected president of the Delhi University Students’ Union from the National Students Union of India — she says she has always been a ‘Dilli ki ladki’.

To be sure, Lamba is no stranger to Delhi’s politics. The 49-year-old is back in the electoral fray after over five years but has three decades of political experience under her belt. After a five-year stint in the grand old party, Lamba joined the AAP in 2014 and was elected from Chandni Chowk as an MLA in 2015. She parted ways with the party in September 2019 and returned to the Congress days later.

It is governance and development under the Congress rule, specifically achievements of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, that forms her poll pitch, which she pits against the BJP’s ‘misogyny’ and the AAP’s ‘sharab ki rajneeti’.

“From the bhagidari scheme to preserving the green belt of the city, bringing in CNG buses to the Metro, Sheila ji carried out multiple works for the development of the city. All the flyovers you see in the city and the growth at which Delhi developed under her regime is something Delhiites will always cherish and remember. If people want change, then they have to vote for the change,” she told the gathering.

Nodding along, Radha Devi (65), who was listening to Lamba from the terrace of her house, says, “Our family has been a Congress loyalist since Indira Gandhi’s time so we will vote for Congress. But whoever comes must do something for senior citizens. That is all we need.”

Standing around a general store, some men who were at the gathering say this election could be close fight between sitting AAP MLA and CM Atishi and BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri. While Bidhuri’s remarks on women — he said roads in Kalkaji will be made as smooth as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s cheeks, targeted Atishi for changing fathers and called her a hirni — have not gone down well with men and women alike in the area, the group says the ex-MP might have a chance.

Speaking about issues plaguing the area, Masur Alam, who has lived in Govindpuri for 23 years, says water supply is the biggest problem. “We don’t get proper supply, especially in summers… it comes at odd hours, around 3-4 am.” But he’s quick to add he is happy he doesn’t need to pay electricity bills anymore — referring to the AAP’s bijli subsidy — and saves Rs 1,400-Rs 1,500 a month.

Lamba, meanwhile, heads to two more closed-door meetings. En route, she pauses to greet people with a polite, ‘kaise hain aap’.

As she walks past, Ravi Arora, a private businessman who has been living in the area for decades, speculates that Atishi still has an edge. “People consider her approachable, as someone who always listens to their issues. Whether roads or street lights, sooner or later, AAP has done the work. Atishi, despite being CM, still visits the area and interacts with us. The other day, she was here on a scooter,” he exclaims.

In the 2020 polls, Atishi coasted through comfortably, bagging 52.56% of the votes. Her rivals in the BJP and Congress, Dharambir Singh and Shivani Chopra, got 41.84% and 4.67% of the votes respectively.

Around 4 pm, her last meeting of the day, Lamba arrives at the residence of Subhash Chandra Juneja (72), market association president of Govindpuri, to speak with traders and their wives.

Addressing them in Punjabi instead of Hindi — the gathering is dominated by Punjabi speakers — she recounts her work as MLA of Chandni Chowk. “MLAs get funds, approximately Rs 50 crore in five years. Do you think the sitting MLA has spent Rs 50 crore? I was an MLA earlier and I utilised all the funds for the betterment of my constituency. I will do the same here if you vote me to power,” Lamba says.

In a dig at the AAP and BJP, she says she’s always spoken up for women and against substance abuse. “We need to work and sort these two things, we can’t have people promoting alcohol by giving ‘one plus one’ (offers) and lowering the legal age to drink. Statements against women are all in the public domain,” she says.

After Lamba leaves, Juneja tells The Indian Express that his family has always voted for the Congress. “Most Congress candidates who fought the elections usually had their first meetings at our residence,” he smiles.

The man isn’t happy with the current dispensation though. Complaining about the state of roads in the area, he says, “It was a task to drive… especially when I had to take my wife, a cancer survivor, in a wheelchair in our car. Only after repeated requests, it was sorted.”