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Delhi Municipal Corporation elections:

Delhi citizens campaign for ‘people’s candidates, not party candidates’!

With the announcement of April 5 as the date for the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections, all the major political parties, such as the Congress, BJP and others are busy looking for candidates to put up for the elections. In the light of the huge attacks that have been taking place on the residents of Delhi in recent months -- demolition of slums and eviction of people from their homes, sealing of shops and small commercial establishments, etc., and the inability of both the Congress Party government in Delhi and the opposition BJP to defend the interests of the people, both these parties have become extremely unpopular in the eyes of the residents of Delhi. It has been reported that both these parties are have difficulty finding candidates ‘acceptable’ to the people.

Meanwhile, in several wards, residents are proposing to field candidates selected from amongst themselves, through the citizens’ committees in their respective areas. Rather than voting for the ‘least evil’ of the candidates put up by the big political parties, these residents are planning to come together and campaign for their own selected candidate, on an independent platform, with the full support of the community and without the use of money power and muscle power, as is normally rampant with the big party candidates.

One such initiative is that of the Jan Pratinidhi Manch -- a common platform of several political and social organizations, representing men and women from diverse strata of society. These include Sangharsh Samitis of several slum and resettlement colonies spread all over Delhi as well as Resident Welfare Associations of many middle-class colonies. These groups have come together with a common aim of intervening in the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections, by fielding candidates selected by the residents of each ward, from among themselves, through their area committees, as opposed to candidates selected by the established political parties.

The constituents of the Jan Pratinidhi Manch include Lok Raj Sangathan, Nagrik Shasan, Bharat Punarnirman Dal, Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha, Rangbhoomi Natya Samooh, Sanjay Colony Niwasi Sangharsh Samiti, Transit Camp Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, J.J.Colony Madanpur Khadar Sangharsh Samiti and others.

At a Press Conference held on February 22, the representatives of the JPM explained that their aim is to bring the concerns of the people of Delhi to the centre-stage, by involving the residents themselves directly in governance, through their own selected political representative. This will be an important step in challenging the domination of the narrow partisan interests of the established political parties over the politics and lives of the people of Delhi. All candidates of the Jan Pratinidhi Manch will have to agree to abide by the standards set by the JPM. They have to render accounts to the residents and also take an oath that the candidate, if elected, will resign if the residents of the ward find his/ her work unsatisfactory. The election campaign of these candidates will be funded entirely by contributions from the residents themselves.

As reported in the last issue of PV, the Jan Pratinidhi Manch has already begun its campaign in many wards of Delhi where it will be fielding its candidates. The residents’ committees and sangharsh samitis in the local areas have an important role to play in the selection of the people’s candidates. It is through these committees that the residents will exercise their choice and also raise their common concerns to be taken up with the MCD and authorities in Delhi.

Residents of Dwarka, Masjid Moth, Defence Colony, IP Estate and several colonies have met to form the residents’ committees in their respective areas and are discussing the issue of selection of people’s candidates.

At a public meeting attended by more than 200 people in J.J.Colony Madanpur Khadar, on February 25, more than a hundred men, women and youth came forward to become members of their Sangharsh Samiti. The meeting had been called by the Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha (HNES), a youth organization that has been actively working to organise the youth of this colony for social change. Activists of Lok Raj Sangathan spoke to the residents about the significance of the Sangharsh Samiti as a forum in which all the residents will come together, irrespective of their community, region or political affiliation, with the common aim of taking forward the struggle for their rights and for a life of dignity. The Sangharsh Samiti will have to meet regularly, take decisions collectively and then work collectively to implement them, they explained. Members of the Jan Pratinidhi Manch spoke of the need to reject the candidates of the big political parties and select our own people’s candidates. Several residents, especially the youth spoke with great excitement of the prospect of building their own Sangharsh Samiti and putting up one of their own as a candidate for the MCD elections, because they are fed up of being fed on false promises by the politicians and want to take the initiative themselves. On this occasion, young activists of the Rangabhoomi Natya Samooh performed a play ‘Faisla aapke ke haath mein’, exposing the political process and calling for people’s representatives.

 

 

Delhi Municipal Corporaton elections Election campaign of Jan Pratinidhi Manch candidates echoes among the residents The past week has witnessed hectic election campaigning by various candidates all over Delhi, for the coming Municipal Corporation elections. A correspondent of People’s Voice/Mazdoor Ekta Lehar has sent the following interesting report on the election campaign of the candidates supported by the Jan Pratinidhi Manch. In 10 wards of Delhi, candidates supported by the Jan Pratinidhi Manch are contesting the MCD elections. These are Ms. Reena Luke from Madanpur Khadar (ward no. 207), Lokesh Kumar from Harkesh Nagar (ward no. 200), Amarjeet from Tekhand (ward no. 199), Sanjay Gautam from Kalkaji (ward no. 196), Ms. Ranjoo Minhas from Shahpurjat (ward no. 191), Ms. Kumkum Talwar from Vasant Vihar (ward no. 165), Sqn. Ldr. Krishan Mitroo from Hauz Khas (ward no. 164), Dwarka (Satpal Singh from Palam-ward no. 145, B.S. Yadav from Matiala-ward no.136 and Ms. Pratibha from Kakhrola-ward no. 135) and Sunil Jain from Pitampura (S) (ward no. 53). In most of the cases, these candidates have been selected by the residents of the ward, in the ward committee meetings, in accordance with the established procedure of the Jan Pratinidhi Manch. They have signed a declaration in public, agreeing to work in the interests of the community they are representing and also agreeing to step down if the ward committe e is dissatisfied with their work. All the candidates, except the ones from Dwarka ward, have been assigned the election symbol ‘TORCH’. The election campaign for the Jan Pratinidhi Manch candidates has taken off in full swing in all the wards. The candidates, together with groups of supporters, are approaching the residents in the different pockets of their wards, going house to house and explaining how they are different from the candidates standing on tickets of the various established political parties. They are appealing to the residents to vote for their own selected Jan Pratinidhi, who will put the concerns of the residents first, and will be accountable to the residents, unlike the candidates of the established political parties that we have seen so far. They are also appealing to the residents to contribute funds towards the campaign and election expenses of their Jan Pratinidhi, and the residents are responding enthusiastically to the appeal. In Kalkaji ward, hundreds of youth, women and men have been organizing a series of spirited rallies in support of their candidate, Sanjay Gautam, through the blocks of Transit Camp, every Sunday and also every evening. Holding aloft banners of Jan Pratinidhi Manch, Transit Camp Bachao Sangharsh Samiti and ‘Transit Camp Bachao, Sanjoo Layo’, they brought freshness, colour and hope to the residents, amidst the drab, worn-out campaigns of the political party candidates, full of false promises that our people have learnt to see through. The slogan ‘Jan Pratinidhi Manch ne dee chunauti, khatam ho party netaon ke raajniti’ is on everyone’s lips, as they recount how all the party leaders were nowhere to be seen when they had to face the bulldozers of the MCD last year, and how Sanjay led their struggle with the help of the Lok Raj Sangathan and organized the Transit Camp Bachao Sangharsh Samiti. Residents generously contributed to the campaign, through funds and other forms of suppo rt. Enthusiastic campaigning is also going on in Girinagar, within the same ward, where a large contingent of students and youth are going around the various Khands of the colony with the candidate, carrying colourful banners and sporting T-shirts, each bearing the name of Jan Pratinidhi Manch and the symbol TORCH. In Madanpur Khadar ward, a 150 strong team accompanied the candidate, Ms. Reena Luke in marching through the lanes of J.J.Colony, Khadar Vistar. Banners of J.J.Colony, Khadar Vistar Sangharsh Samiti and Jan Pratinidhi Manch heralded their approach, together with full-throated slogans such as ‘Dillivasiyon ki yeh lalkaar, Ab jitayen apnaa ummeedvar!’ and ‘Nikle chor sab party pratinidhi, Ab ki baar sirf Jan Pratinidhi!’. The residents here, especially the youth and women are eagerly coming out in large numbers to support their own Jan Pratinidhi, who is herself a college student and a social activist associated with the Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha. Several such actions are being carried out every day. In Harkesh Nagar ward, residents of Sanjay Colony, led by the women and youth, are vigorously campaigning for the success of their Jan Pratinidhi. The candidate here, Lokesh Kumar, a youth activist of the Hind Naujawan Ekta Sabha, a street-theatre artist of the Rangbhoomi Natya Samooh and an active organizer and leader of the Sanjay Colony Niwasi Sangharsh Samiti, is extremely popular. This is evident from the response that his campaign is drawing from the residents. Disgusted with the candidates of the political parties, who have betrayed the residents of this J.J.cluster time and again, people here are full of joy and hope this time, as their ‘own son’ is the candidate and they are determined to make him win. Hundreds of women and youth, donning T-shirts and holding aloft banners and flags, bearing the symbol TORCH and the name of Jan Pratinidhi Manch, are accompanying the candidate in marching through the colony and in the neighbouring slum clusters in the same ward, loudl y declaring ‘Ab janata ka sach ho sapna, ab janata ho maalik apna, jitayen jan pratinidhi apna’ and ‘Shashan satta apne haath, apne jan pratinidhi ke saath’. In Haus Khas ward, the candidate Sqn. Ldr. Mitroo and his supporters are addressing the residents during their morning walk in the parks. They are also organizing marches and sit-in campaigns around the markets and other public spaces in the ward. Vigorous door-to-door campaigning by groups of residents is being carried out in the different residential clusters of Shahpurjat ward, where the candidate Ms. Ranjoo Minhas is the general secretary of the Residents Welfare Association of her colony, Masjid Moth, and a popular social activist. In the colonies of the Vasant Vihar ward, such as Hill View Apartments, Indian Airlines Colony, Vasant Enclave, etc, ordinary people very vocally expressed their disgust with the Congress and BJP and other established parties which are part of the political system. They voiced their support for the Jan Pratinidhi Manch candidate KumKum Talwar since she promised to be owe her allegiance to the people of the ward rather than the high command of a political party. A colourful feature of the election campaign in many of these wards has been the performance of the street play “Faisla aapke haath mein” by the young artistes of the Rangbhoomi Natya Samooh. Enacting real life situations with humorous interludes, the play brings out how the established political parties fool the people and divide them, and poses before the audience the alternative – that by selecting and electing our own candidates from amongst ourselves, we the people can challenge the domination of the political parties and exercise control over our elected representatives. Reports of enthusiastic campaigning are coming in daily from all the wards. Every where, the campaign of the candidates of Jan Pratinidhi Manch is marked by high spirits and wide participation of the residents of the ward, in stark contrast to the hackneyed and lack-lustre campaign of the disorganized bunches of 15-20 cadres of the political party candidates.
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regds

N. Mukund