By Tushar Singh
Markets in Shakti Nagar, Delhi abound by posters condemning three years of misrule in Delhi. On the other hand, the Aam Aadmi Party celebrates its three-year stint, out of the much publicised Paanch Saal Kejriwal campaign, before the 2015 polls. The Delhi government is set to release a song composed by Vishal Dadlani on its third anniversary, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other cabinet ministers addressing the public in a Q/A session.
A little background
The AAP wrested power from the Congress first in 2013, ending 15 years of Sheila Dixit’s rule. After a 49-day stint in the government (backed by the Congress), Arvind Kejriwal resigned as CM which led to a Presidents rule in the national capital till 2015, when AAP made a comeback winning 67 seats out of 70. As AAP completed its three years, it was quite natural that Congress and AAP would clash over under whom had been Delhi better off.
Taking stock of the situation
As the Aam Aadmi Party government completed three years in power on Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal promised free WiFi in the city, better roads and drains in unauthorised colonies and the building of 900 mohalla clinics. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said governance is now in fourth gear. Our main projects have been streamlined and approvals have been taken… People will see results in next two years. Party said it believed that Everything is Possible in the next two years.
The AAP released a report card of the work it has done in three years and compared these years to the 15 years of Congress rule. During the last three years, we have actually reduced power tariffs. In 2010, if you consumed 400 units of electricity a month, you paid Rs. 1,340 for it. In 2014, Rs. 2,040. Last year, your bill should have come down to Rs. 1,170. That is one of our biggest achievements, Arvind Kejriwal said. Rebutting these claims, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said that it was the Congress government which gave the people of Delhi a 24-hour electricity supply, reminding everyone of the power cuts that haunted the capital before 1998.
On the issue of education, Kejriwal said AAP has built 7,030 classrooms and 8,000 classrooms are under construction, criticising the previous government of constructing only 800 classrooms in 15 years. Maken hit back by saying Congress created six universities, six deemed universities, 22 general education colleges, 20 professional education colleges, unlike the AAP which scrapped its promise of building 20 new degree colleges.
Infrastructure saw AAP and Congress providing different facts and figures. Ajay Maken boasted of constructing 75 flyovers and numerous bridges including the Wazirabad Bridge which is the largest signature bridge in the world. In reply, Kejriwal provided a counter-narrative, Whenever I ask someone what work the last government did, people say they made a lot of flyovers. Everyone calls them Flyover-waali Sarkar. So let us look at the figures. They made 57 flyovers in 15 years. We made 11 in 3 years. So even if you compare averages, we are at par.
What does the future look like?
The AAP, throughout the celebrations, boasted of improvement in power, education and health. If the AAP can actually build 1000 Mohalla clinics as compared to the present 160 and implement the idea successfully, it will be no mean feat. Free wifi remains an empty promise, so does the introduction of more DTC buses and combating pollution (Odd-even was fun but ineffective). Since AAP has national ambitions AAP will do itself a world of good if it can market itself as a major change bringer in the 2019 general elections and make inroads in other parts of the country.
Featured Image Credits: New Delhices on Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-ND