Delhi: Rohini
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A constitutional profile
2020
Ritam Halder, January 20, 2020: The Times of India
Why contest is on a knife’s edge in this crime-hit middle-class segment Ritam.Halder@timesgroup.com
New Delhi:
Rohini in northwest Delhi is perhaps the most urbanised constituencies among the 70 that make up the Delhi legislative assembly. Residents of this seat, carved out in 2008 during the delimitation exercise, are mostly businessmen and professionals. A handful of JJ clusters and two villages are also part of the constituency, but these are unlikely to leave a mark on the overwhelmingly middle-class electorate living in the 154 cooperative housing societies and DDA flats in the area.
SP Mishra, a retired SAI table tennis coach and resident of Sector 9, pinpointed law and order as an issue that is of some significance to the affluent households. “Every other day, a snatching takes place. Police don’t do enough,” the 65-year-old alleged. “Other issues that engage voters elsewhere in the city don’t bother people here.”
Most voters are caught in a binary dilemma of having to opt for either Aam Aadmi Party or BJP. Considered a BJP stronghold, Rohini voted AAP’s Rajesh Garg to victory in 2013 only to send Vijender Gupta to the assembly from his home turf in 2015, though with a modest margin of 5,367 votes. Gupta is the leader of the Opposition in the outgoing assembly. Rohini was one of the three seats that BJP won amid a landslide victory for AAP in 67 out of 70 that year. In the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, Rohini assembly segment gave BJP a big lead of over 60,000 and BJP eventually won the North-West Delhi parliamentary seat by a huge margin.
For many, the vote for BJP in 2019 was keeping in view the national situation.
Civic issues
2017
Paras Singh, April 10, 2017: The Times of India
Rohini, one of the biggest sub-cities of Asia, was developed as a residential hub in northwest Delhi during the 1980s. This is where the stark difference between planned and unplanned residential areas becomes entirely visible.With basics like well-laid roads and spruced up parks already covered, demands of residents are restricted to maintenance, upkeep and addition of new facilities like recreational centres and open gyms.
Spreading over 60 square kilometres, Rohini sub-city is too big to be put under one assembly constituency . The Rohini constituency has four wards that were reshuffled but their basic contours remain the same. Earlier known as Rohini North, Central, East and Naharpur, the wards have been renamed to Rohini F , G, H and I.The constituency largely consists of planned sectors that middle-class families call their homes, along with areas like the Badli industrial area, Rohini Jail wards, a few slum clusters and Naharpur village.
Rohini also seems to have benefited from its high-profile representatives. Deputy mayor Tara Chand Bansal, Leader of the house V P Pandey and the wife of BJP's Vijender Gupta, Dr Shobha Vijender, all come from these sectors. A resident of Sector 18, Krishna Kumar Arora, said, “Rohini has got the right attention because of good representatives in the corporation. There are no potholes on roads and parks are well maintained“.
Many residents do not agree. “We haven't seen our councillor in the last 5 years. These sectors have always been well maintained. It is not that the current people in power have done wonders. The drains have not been cleared and it will only get worse during the monsoon,“ said Rajiv Gandhi, a trader in the DC chowk market.People coming to these markets complained to TOI about lack of parking space and public toilets, and illegal parking.
However, grievances of those living in the “non-sector“ areas are completely different.“You don't need a map. The condition of the road will tell you when you have moved out of the sectors,“ exclaimed Rita, a social worker from Anchal Charitable Trust who works in the Raja Vihar JJ camp. “Focus is on areas where the rich live.Nobody looks at our problems.Garbage is not picked up daily and drains are not cleared. If you go to Suraj Park right now, you'll find over a dozen stray dogs,“ she complained.
Another problem plaguing the residents is of cattle straying from Naharpur village to the adjoining areas, causing jams and accidents. Nirmala Devi (48) from Naharpur said, “Dairy owners leave their cattle to graze. Our parks are full of garbage and animals. Many kids have been bitten in the last one year“.
“We have been registering FIRs against dairy owners from time to time,“ said Dr Neelam Goyal, a representative from Naharpur. She listed initiatives that have been taken to re move potholes and dark spots from the area. “There were 11 dhalaos, 10 of which have been closed and are being converted into recreational centres and libraries,“ Goyal said, adding that “some things could not be done due to fund crunch“.
