Garbage-choked drain, bad roads, no clean water: In Northeast Delhi’s Mustafabad, civic issues take centrestage this Delhi election

The state of Brijpuri, part of the Mustafabad Assembly constituency in Northeast Delhi, is a microcosm of the lack of development and sanitation plaguing the area. As Delhi gears up to vote for a new government on February 5, civic issues — roads, lack of drinking water, garbage, non-functional mohalla clinics and sewage — will likely play a huge role in who its residents decide to vote for.

In the 2020 Assembly polls, the AAP’s Haji Yunus won the seat, defeating BJP’s sitting MLA Jagdish Pradhan by a margin of 20,704 votes. This year, apart from the three main political players, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has entered Delhi’s electoral fray.

While the AAP has fielded Adil Ahmad Khan, dropping Yunus, the BJP has given a ticket to five-time MLA Mohan Singh Bisht. The Congress has brought in Ali Mehdi, son of Hasan Ahmed, a former legislator from Mustafabad. In 2022, Mehdi had famously jumped ship to join the AAP — for a few hours. He returned to the grand old party the same day. The AIMIM’s pick is Tahir Hussain, a former AAP councillor and an accused in the Northeast Delhi riots.

In several pockets of this locality, anger against the AAP is palpable. “There is no clean water in this colony,” says Ravi Kishan Mahodaya, 63, who retired from the telecom department. “I’ve not seen the garbage van here in the last five years. The drains are clogged and our MLA has no interest in fixing any of it.”

Playing cards nearby with a group of men, 75-year-old Ram Prakash Chauhan says that at one time, the BJP was very powerful here. “About 80 to 90% of Hindus will vote for BJP here. The Kejriwal wave is gone, his balloon has burst. He has only filled his house in the last few years and then says everything is free for us in Delhi,” exclaims Chauhan.

The others alongside Chauhan decline to comment, saying they are not interested in politics anymore.
Women in Brijpuri, however, are still vocal about their preference for AAP. “I have not got my ration card yet. I paid Rs 1,200 twice to get it. They promise a lot of things but in reality, we do not get it. But it is better than other parties,” said Gudiya Devi, 56.

Devi is joined by her three friends who all warm their hands by a fire outside her residence.

“Bhaiya, hume toh Kejriwal hi theek lage hai (Brother, we find Kejriwal is best),” says a woman, requesting anonymity.
Around 250 metres away from the AAP’s party office in Bhagirathi Vihar, a group of men stand outside a clothing store discussing the elections. “We don’t know who to vote for. But we have given enough chances to the AAP now,” says Dilshad Khan, 35.

A wide-angle shot capturing Nala flowing through the Mustafabad constituency in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)

An auto driver by profession, Khan has been staying on rent in Brijpuri’s gali no. 9 for the last 10 years. “I had to pay the rent and the electricity bill even during Covid. We do vote, but what do we get? All the benefits are for people who have their own house here,” adds Khan, originally from Uttar Pradesh.

Next to him, a 33-year-old grocery store owner in Karawal Nagar, Iqrar Ahmad, points to a dilapidated and dusty road. He claims the last time the road was laid was during the Congress regime. “Now we cannot say if the road has potholes or the potholes have roads, During the monsoon, there is knee-deep water. As far as drinking water is considered, it is a luxury.”

In the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress fielded Kanhaiya Kumar against BJP’s Manoj Tiwari. AAP did not field a candidate since it was in an alliance with the Congress. While Tiwari won the Northeast Delhi seat, the Mustafabad Assembly segment gave 1.03 lakh votes to Congress as opposed to 78,000 to BJP.

In Prem Nagar, where the BJP’s two-room office is located, there are photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Tiwari on banners.

At the entrance, women party workers distribute pamphlets to everyone who comes in. Tea is kept brewing to have with namkeen kept in a steel tray, with party workers surrounding it.

“We are fighting the election on the agenda of literacy, roads and transport,” says Lalit Kumar Jadon, 51, the head of the BJP’s Mustafabad booth committee.

He says they are trying to tell people that the dreams Kejriwal sold them were a lie and “we will make it all a reality”. “We have fielded a Hindu candidate. If Muslim votes are divided, the BJP will benefit.”

Fifty metres away sits Raju, who goes by a single name, at his confectionary store in Prem Nagar. “There are no schools in our area. There are no lights on the streets. The roads have not been repaired for forever. But if anyone comes, it will only be Kejriwal,” he says.

In Babunagar, 750 metres away, a Congress campaign is in full swing. Mehdi, however, has no pamphlets to distribute at his party office but his hoardings are everywhere.

“He has held our hands since 2020 when communal violence broke out in this area. He has worked even when the Congress lost the election,” says a first-time voter, Mohammad Ayan, 18.

“We have not forgotten the pain. Our MLA did not come to help us,” says Kanchan Devi, 58.

Nearly 2 km away in Sanjay Chowk, a small group of people express support for Tahir. Attending a rally by Owaisi, Mohammad Salim and Mirza Mohsin say: “We will vote for him. He will be relieved by the court, come back from jail and work for us.”

“Everyone in our house will vote for him (Tahir). Last time, we had voted for AAP but this time we will give a chance to Owaisi and his party,” said Mohammad Ayan, 19, a tailor by profession.