My mother’s daughter: In her first poll battle, Bansuri Swaraj underlines this message

Speaking to The Indian Express, Bansuri acknowledged her mother’s influence in shaping her values and work ethics. But, she said, she never discussed her entry into politics with her. “My mother and I had never discussed my entry into politics, but we discussed a lot about my entry into law, because politics was never on the horizon at that point of time,” she said.

“I am very grateful to see the affection that people have towards Ma. It is their love for her that they keep showering on me in the form of blessings,” she said. “She was compassion personified, she helped many Indians abroad… even in 2019, when she was not in the government, she did not let go of the compassion. I am really proud of this,” she added.

A surprise pick for the seat, Bansuri replaced the BJP’s two-time New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi. In the 2019 polls, Lekhi won close to 55% of the 9.19 lakh votes polled in the constituency — which covers areas like Malviya Nagar, Greater Kailash, Patel Nagar, Moti Nagar, Karol Bagh and R K Puram — defeating the Congress’s Ajay Maken and AAP’s Brijesh Goyal.

In fact, parts of the New Delhi constituency were earlier included in the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat, from where Sushma Swaraj had won in 1996.

With less than a month left for the elections — Delhi votes on May 25 — Bansuri’s campaign day begins early, as she squeezes in multiple roadshows till evening. From sabzi mandis and chaupals to dhobi ghats and bastis, she addresses small meetings across her constituency.

On Friday, for instance, she started her campaign at 8 am, hopping onto a mini-truck for her “jansampark yatra”, covering areas from Manohar Park to Subhash Chowk. At 5 pm, she arrived at the SDA market, opposite IIT-Delhi, for a roadshow. Among those in the crowd was 23-year-old Abhishek Tyagi, a student at IIT-Delhi. “I was curious to see Sushma Swaraj’s daughter,” he said.

Reflecting on her entry into politics, and her journey from an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) karyakarta, Bansuri told The Indian Express: “Although I have been a BJP karyakarta, I decided to join politics all of a sudden. I had been serving the party for over a decade as a lawyer; then I got a call from the party’s Delhi unit informing me that they were extending the legal cell and asking if I would like to take up a leadership role in it. Later, I was given the responsibility of becoming the secretary in Delhi BJP.”

“On March 2, while I was watching television with my father, I suddenly got to know that the party has handed me a new responsibility — as the (New Delhi) candidate,” she recalled.

“I am really grateful to the people of Delhi for their love, blessings and affection. It shows their unwavering faith in the (Narendra) Modi administration,” she said.

She brings up the Modi government’s schemes in her public speeches. “There are some very important Modi government schemes which honourable Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalji does not allow to be implemented in Delhi. For example, the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which gives health coverage of Rs 5 lakh, cannot be implemented in Delhi because he disallows it. The one thing I would like to ensure is that all these Modi administration schemes are implemented,” she said in one such speech at the sabzi mandi near New Delhi Railway Station.

Addressing a gathering of the BJP’s Sikh Samaj in Moti Nagar earlier in the week, she again invoked her late mother. Introducing herself as “Dilli ki kudi”, she said, “Maine pichle janam bahut acchhe karm kiye honge, tabhi mujhe Swaraj Kaushal aur Sushma Swaraj ke roop mai mata, pita mile (I must have done good deeds in my past life to get Swaraj Kaushal and Sushma Swaraj as my parents).”

She said she may have pursued her higher education abroad, but she has a “Hindustani dil”.

She was late for the gathering by three hours. “Today, an important engagement took too much of my time and then we all know how Delhi’s traffic is… par seva ka mauka dijiyega taaki agle paanch saal tak iss baat ka prayashchit karti rahoon (but please give me a chance to serve, so that I can atone for this for the next five years),” she said.

“Today, I have not come only to seek the blessings of your vote. Along with your vote, I also want to seek the power of your impact, the power of your influence, and the power of your dissemination… This is not out of some political selfishness or desire for power. It is not for us, but for the man of this era, whose name is Narendra Modi,” she said.

“Whenever I come to Moti Nagar, you tell me that I am your sister, your niece, your daughter… no matter how upset you get over me being late, you can’t send me back with empty hands, right? That’s why I ask for your vote,” she said, as the crowd responded positively.