NEW DELHI, November 22: Slum dwellers constitute the most sought-after vote bank for politicians. And Ravinder Bansal, the BJP's candidate for Shalimar Bagh, is no exception. Shalimar Bagh was represented in the outgoing Assembly by deposed chief minister Sahib Singh. Early yesterday morning, Bansal provided voters from the jhuggi camp in S.P. Block (Pithampura) with the usual promises.But his real focus seemed to be to encash the special attention that Sahib Singh had bestowed upon the area during his term. This, in a way, has made things easier for Bansal, who is among the new faces in the electoral battle.``The residents of the Janata flats have been exempted from paying property tax and the penal interest rate being charged by the DDA for delayed payment of installments from flat owners has been reduced from 48 per cent to 12 per cent,'' he reminded the DDA flat owners. The residents no longer have to go to the centralised property registration office in Old Delhi's Kashmere Gate area for getting their sale or purchase agreements registered, as the same has been shifted to the ED block.Similarly, the offices for depositing electricity, water and telephone bills have been set up in the vicinity, he added. In fact, if the government is to be believed, the Pitampura area is all set to be the nodal centre for sports and cultural activities for the residents of this part of Outer Delhi, who have for long being denied such facilities.``We are developing a musical garden near Pitampura TV Tower on the lines of the Vrindavan Gardens. The entire area around the tower will be developed as a cultural hub on the lines of Mandi House in central Delhi and a national level sports complex is already underway,'' he stated on behalf of the BJP government.The assembly constituency has already sent two municipal corporators, R. K. Singhal and Roshani Bansal, from the same party from Shalimar Bagh and Pitampura. They won with margins of 10,000 and 7,000 votes respectively in the municipal elections.The Congress candidate is Sarla Kaushik. The area is not without its share of infrastructural problems which include water, power and transportation problems. Added to these is the menace of increasing pollution and unauthorised constructions.The seat is crucial to the BJP, more so for the Sahib Singh camp. At stake is all the ex-CM's goodwill.
