Poorvanchalis ask parties: observing Chhat alright but where is our ticket?

Even as politicians from both the Congress and BJP made a beeline to the ghats to celebrate Chhat and give news bites...

Even as politicians from both the Congress and BJP made a beeline to the ghats to celebrate Chhat and give news bites, it seems the Poorvanchali population in the Capital is miffed with both parties for not giving them minimal representation.

While the BJP has released its list, things are not yet clear for the Congress. And several Poorvanchali organisations have written to both parties complaining about the issue. The latest missive was fired by the UP Bihar Mahasangh, which was founded by BJP leader Lal Bihari Tiwari. Delhi has nearly 60 lakh Poorvanchalis. 8220;In the BJP8217;s first list, even in areas where there is a large population of Poorvanchalis, no person from the region has managed to get a ticket. The Congress, on the other hand, in the name of Poorvanchali representation, traditionally only gives a ticket to Mahabal Mishra,8221; Uttam Tiwari, president of the UP Bihar Mahasangh, said.

There are at least seven seats in the Capital that have a predominantly Poorvanchali population. These include Patparganj, Burari, Dwarka, Sangam Vihar, Karawal Nagar, Kirari and Wazirpur. However, in the BJP8217;s list, Poorvanchalis have been given representation only in Kirari, which will be contested by Anil Jha.

As far as the Congress is concerned, there is much uncertainty as the official list has not been declared. 8220;Both parties demand votes in our name but they do not give us any representation. We have told them clearly that in case they continue to not pay any attention to us, we will boycott them,8221; Tiwari said.

The BJP has given the Sangam Vihar ticket to Dr S C L Gupta. Gupta lives in Gurgaon and party insiders claim he got the seat because of his friendship with the Delhi BJP president, Harsh Vardhan. The name of retired IPS officer Amod Khanth is doing the rounds in Congress circles, although the seat has been allotted to Tek Chand Sharma in the initial list.

In Dwarka, which again has a sizeable population of Poorvanchalis, the BJP has given the ticket to Pradyuman Rajput. The Congress is planning to field Mahabal Mishra, although that remains undecided. In Karawal Nagar, the BJP has given the ticket to sitting MLA Mohan Singh Bhist, who is from Uttarakhand. In Patparganj, both the Congress and BJP remain undecided. The name of student leader Nakul Bhardwaj has been doing the rounds in BJP circles, even as candidates like Poonam Azad have been ignored.

Sitting MLA Mange Ram Garg has got the ticket from Wazirpur. He is a Haryanavi but his wife is from Jharkhand.