Victory From Kalkaji Seat: Senior Congress leader Alka Lamba is contesting from Kalkaji Assembly constituency. The Congress has an important seat. In this seat, he will contest against Aam Aadmi Party candidate and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi. Alka Lamba had an exclusive dialogue with the NBT.
The Chief Minister is in front of you in Kalkaji Assembly constituency. You are a new face here. What are the challenges?
I am not a new face. I was born in Delhi. When she was 19, she won the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election, then Deshbandhu College came to Kalkaji to seek votes. I have been here thousands of times, Kalkaji Temple, Iskcon Temple, Lotus Temple. I am a Punjabi, so half of my kinship here on the streets of Govindpuri, with whom I am coming and going to meet. I am aware of the paddle of Delhi. And challenges are just problems.
It is being said that earlier AAP was not ready to contest elections, especially from this seat.
I am the national president of Mahila Congress. I am in the Congress working committee. I spent my entire year fighting for half the population of the country in 28 states of the country. I had told Rahul Gandhi that I would work for the organisation. The Congress is fighting on its own on 70 seats, so I want to start with you in the campaign work to give strength to the party organisation. That was my only wish. But the party said that if I have to fight elections and fight against Kalkaji, then I am fighting. I’m never afraid to fight. This is my fifth election.
In the last assembly elections, the Congress was in a very weak position. The voting percentage was very low. What is the reason this time?
In fact, now people have realised that they have been cheated. Those who voted for the Congress were betrayed by Arvind Kejriwal’s agitation. But now where is the slogan of system change, Jan Lokpal, Swaraj? Kejriwal came up with the liquor policy. We saw a bottle being distributed together for free. Rs 33 crore was spent on ‘Shish Mahal’. It was taxpayers money. No work was done on infrastructure, unemployment. Now we are meeting people and people’s faith in Congress is coming back.
What is the main battle of the Congress? Aam Aadmi Party or BJP?
People have also seen the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP. If you look at my seat, Atishi became an MLA from Kalkaji, then became the CM. If Atishi had worked in the Kalkaji assembly constituency, she would have sought votes on her work and not in the name of Delhi’s son Kejriwal. People are saying that when he did not work in his assembly as soon as he became CM, what will he do in the future after becoming an MLA? What did Ramesh Bidhuri do when he was an MP for 10 years? And look at their language, why would people want legislators with such language? So there is a fight between the two, a battle of issues. For me, this fight is not difficult at all. I have experience working as a legislator. I am sure Congress will win here.
You have earlier been an MLA from Chandni Chowk seat. How different are the issues?
It is no different at all. There is also a group of stars here. There is the same problem here. There is the same toxic air here too. There is no parking facility. Under compulsion, people park their cars on the streets or turn the park into parking. The green belt has been abolished in Delhi. Sheila Dikshit’s vision was that if the population of Delhi increases, the needs will increase and the resources will increase accordingly. But today the situation is worse than bad
