Delhi Assembly elections: Mother’s Manifesto

But Delhi has its own issues that they are helpless against — the pollution crisis and the crime rate weigh heavily on their minds.

For them, this election is more than just a welfare sops vs double-engine sarkaar narrative but how the winning party — AAP, BJP or Congress — can transform Delhi into an ideal home where their newborns take their first steps.

Polling officials at an EVM distribution centre in New Delhi on Tuesday, ahead of voting in the Capital on Wednesday. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

As the national capital votes on February 5, The Indian Express speaks to these new mothers — all Delhi voters — about what they expect the incoming government to work on to make the city livable for their children.

Nidhi Massey, 35

Nidhi is half asleep but wakes up as soon as a nurse passes by to enquire about her newborns, who are in the NICU of Holy Family Hospital’s postnatal ward. They are premature twins born on January 12 through the IVF procedure. Her husband Vipin Prakash (37) asks her to lie down, but she wants to talk.

Among her primary concerns is raising her children in Delhi’s polluted environment. “I didn’t step out when I was pregnant and walked inside my house. We even got an air purifier for our home,” says Nidhi.

Nidhi Massey

“There is one more reason why I didn’t go out a lot during my pregnancy — the poor roads. There are so many potholes on the NFC road that goes towards Holy Family Hospital. A gas line was laid recently and the ditches were filled very unevenly. So now the whole road is uneven.”

However, she believes the AAP government is doing a good job but the Congress was better. Her husband interrupts, saying the BJP will be the best option for Delhi as the central government is also ruled by the party. “Sarkar BJP ki banegi (The BJP will form the government),” says Vipin.

Nidhi shoots back that she is too busy to keep track of who is winning. “By the time my children are in school, there will be another government.”

Their next challenge is saving up so they can send the children to a good nursery school.

Before her pregnancy, Nidhi was working with the Delhi Minorities Commission; she landed the job following a diploma course after school. While she studied in a private school, Vipin is a product of a Delhi government school.

Vipin says Delhi government schools are no good and is adamant about never sending his children to one. “I studied in a government senior secondary school in Kilokari. We will put our child in a private school from the start.”

Rashmi Bhadoria

Rashmi Bhadoria, 25

Sitting in the postnatal ward of Lok Nayak Hospital, Rashmi is thinking about the imminent shift to a bigger house. She and her husband now live in a 1-BHK flat in Yamuna Vihar’s Bhajanpura. “Now that we have a new family member, we need a bigger space,” she says.

Rashmi has been married for six years and became the mother of a baby boy on January 10. Her husband, an EMI collector, is waiting outside the postnatal ward for the lunch break so he can come in and feed her.

Rashmi’s baby was premature, born at eight months: “Time se pehle hi aa gaya (he came early)”.

She came to Lok Nayak because she was told by her doctor at the private hospital where she gave birth that the baby would require NICU care. “Since NICU services were very expensive there, we came to Lok Nayak.”

Rashmi, however, complains of the poor facilities. Alleging that there is no drinking water, she says, “They won’t let us keep an electric kettle or give us warm water.”

After her wedding, Rashmi says she came to Delhi from Chambal where “everything is purer”. “The vegetables we eat, the water we drink, the milk we get in Delhi… It’s very impure…”

She also complains about the pollution. “The doctor suggested not going out in the pollution season during my pregnancy,” she says. “But there are no parks or playgrounds in our areas so we would either go to the terrace or walk in the street. There should be parks and playgrounds so our children can play safely.”

“Beti hoti toh shayad mujhe or dar lagta kyunki chhote chhote bachhe safe nahi hai yahan (If I had a daughter, I would be even more scared… little children are not safe here),” she says.

But her biggest concern is her child’s education. “We want enough money to put him in a good nursery school and then a good private school,” she says.

“I could not finish my graduation but I would want my child to study as much as he wants to.”

Tamanna Abdul Rehman

Tamanna Abdul Rehman, 23

At the maternity ward of Kasturba Hospital, where Tamanna gave birth to her son on January 9, her mother-in-law excitedly calls her grandson “Taimur” after actor Kareena Kapoor Khan’s son. The young mother smiles; they are yet to decide on a name.

Tamanna has no complaints about the hospital services, except for the crowding. “Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and milk — they gave everything on time.”

Her mother-in-law gives her a vitamin D tablet as prescribed by the doctor and says she needs a good dose of it as there is no sunshine in their area: “Pehle khula hua tha par ab flats ban gaye hain isliye dhoop nahi aati. (Earlier, the area around was empty but now flats have come up so we don’t get any sunshine in the house),” she says.

At the family home in Bhajanpura, the newborn’s education is the latest topic of discussion. “My husband has a shop that sells aluminium vessels… we want our child to become a doctor,” says Tamanna.

She also wants to enroll her child in a private school. “Koshish toh main private ki hi karungi. (I will try for a private school).”

Her mother-in-law chimes in: “Ab toh sarkari bhi theek ho gaye hain. (Now even government schools are good)”.

She adds: “Kejriwal ne kiya toh hai bahut par school teachers or achhe honey chahiye (Kejriwal has improved things but teachers need to be better).”

Tamanna has one grouse with the state government though — the quality of water. “Often, the water smells really bad and is not fit to drink. So we get water cans… we have now bought a water purifier as well,” she says.

Tamanna also says it would be good if the government improves the condition of parks and drains. “I did not go anywhere during my pregnancy despite the doctor asking me to take walks. I would walk in my house in the evening,” she adds.

Kalpana Kumari

Kalpana Kumari, 26

On January 19, Kalpana gave birth to a girl at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital. “I didn’t want to go to a private hospital because doctors were forcing me to opt for a cesarean delivery. Here at RML, doctors encouraged me to go through a normal delivery,” she says.

Hailing from Madhubani in Bihar, she has been living in Delhi’s Pandav Nagar for the last five years since her wedding.

As Kalpana settles down to feed her child, her sister-in-law Vandana brings more pillows so she can sit comfortably. “We brought these pillows from home,” she adds.

Vandana says while the hospital is good, the hygiene standards aren’t up to mark. “Cockroaches are everywhere in the maternity ward but nobody seems to bother despite the cleaning staff doing their job,” she says.

For Kalpana, the biggest concern is the safety and security of her child: “Delhi is not safe for women. It’s a huge responsibility now to ensure the safety of my daughter. It’s not easy being the mother of a girl.”

She says the environment in her village is better but since her husband’s job — he is a chartered accountant — is in Delhi, she cannot go back.

“Beti ko har tarah se mazboot karna hai (We have to make our girls strong). My sister-in-law’s daughter is just 12 years old but we talk to her daily about how to be safe when she goes to school or to play or even for her coaching classes. I will do the same when my daughter grows up,” says Kalpana.

She says in the first few months, her daughter will be in Madhubani and Delhi for better care. “Here, we have to rely on ourselves… we can’t trust anyone to look after our child,” she says.

Kalpana, who did her BA from Bihar, says she will ensure she gives the best education to her daughter. “Education will always remain the focus,” she says.

Her own career ambitions of becoming a teacher have taken a backseat for now. She says she wants to work but will not till her daughter is older.

Priti Vishwakarma

Priti Vishwakarma, 27

In a corner of the maternity ward of Lady Hardinge Medical College, a dazed Priti sits quietly. Her son, who she gave birth to on January 19, is in the NICU unit after developing Meconium Aspiration Syndrome.

She complains that the nurses are very rude. “Yesterday, there was no one with me and I needed water. I had to go buy a bottle from a nearby shop,” she says.

She wants to be discharged as soon as possible so she can go back to her village in Amethi. There is nothing in Delhi — the air is bad while the residential areas are congested with no sunlight — she says.

She’s been living in the city for nearly three years. Her husband, Nitin, is a food delivery executive in Inderpuri where the couple stays. He has been living in the city for 21 years now and plans to buy a house soon.

However, Priti says she has not been able to accept Delhi as her home: “It’s good for the rich. The government doesn’t care about the happiness of poor people.”

She adds, “There is no sunlight in the area. My landlord doesn’t open the terrace door or allow us to keep the main door open… how can a child grow up in such conditions? We often go to the park to get some sunlight but it is far away… and it’s not even clean… Itna toh gaanv me gandagi nahi hai jitni yahan hai… Delhi sheher bus naam ka hai. (There isn’t as much filth in my village as there is here. Delhi is a city only in name).”

Priti, who has done her graduation in Sociology from Amethi, says for the next two years, she can’t go anywhere or do anything but take care of her child. “My husband is away all day… How can I also go to work?” she says, adding that her mental health has taken a beating.

“The fear of becoming a new mother is sinking in. I don’t know how I will manage this on my own,” she says.