The BJP, which has formed a government in Delhi after 27 years, faces the weight of huge public expectations. After a vitriolic campaign, and amid promises from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of top BJP leaders to rid the capital of the alleged corruption and misgovernance of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, the saffron party swept to power in Delhi, routing the incumbent AAP government.
The surprise nomination of first-time MLA Rekha Gupta as the chief minister followed a predictable pattern that the BJP adopts when naming its CMs. Unknown faces, with no significant personal base, are catapulted into the limelight. The hope, obviously, is that they will remain indebted and loyal to the party leadership.
One of the first issues that Gupta raised as chief minister was that roads in Lutyens Delhi are still named after Mughal rulers. This is certainly a case of misplaced priorities. A very long to-do list awaits disposal by the new government. Among them are dealing with the pollution problem, cleaning the filthy Yamuna, tackling the waste disposal issue on a war footing, and improving healthcare.
The BJP’s claims that the AAP government did nothing on the education front and that its much-touted mohalla clinics were nothing but a sham have to be proved. That the people of Delhi, who had reposed immense faith in the AAP, threw out the Kejriwal government after over a decade is proof that anti-incumbency is a very real factor.
People’s expectations are sky-high and unless parties live up to them, they will be ruthlessly evicted. Now Gupta and her team of ministers have their task cut out. Parvesh Verma, son of former CM Sahib Singh Verma and the giant slayer who defeated Kejriwal in his bastion, the New Delhi constituency, has been given the portfolios of water, irrigation and flood control. His department is tasked with the clean-up of the Yamuna, a priority listed by Narendra Modi for the BJP government in Delhi.
The first big test for the Rekha Gupta government is fulfilling the pre-poll promise of registering women for the Rs 2500 dole, a scheme which is supposed to kick off on March 8. Any glitches in the implementation will leave voters disillusioned.
The government still has nearly nine months to formulate a blueprint for the pollution problem. That Delhi, touted as a world capital, becomes a toxic nightmare come winter is a shameful fact. A well-thought-out plan of action that envisages consultations with all stakeholders will solve this problem that affects the health of the Delhiites, especially children and senior citizens.
The ‘double engine sarkar’ of the BJP at the centre and in the state should see Delhi progress by leaps and bounds because the daily run-ins with the Lieutenant Governor, which were the hallmark of the previous government, will cease. The centre will be generous in its funding for the new government.
Now what remains is a concerted effort to improve conditions in the capital. Any unhealthy focus on issues like ‘Sheesh Mahal’ and liquor policy scams will only detract from what really matters. The BJP government in Delhi cannot live in the past; it must look to the future and the health and well-being of the generations to come.
