Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest constituencies of Delhi will see a political match between two veteran politicians this Lok Sabha elections.
The Chandni Chowk constituency is known the world over for its heritage including monuments like the Red Fort. The area, also known as the Walled City, is a tourist and foodie destination for both domestic and international visitors.
Created in 1956, Chandni Chowk is the smallest Lok Sabha constituency in terms of area. It includes the iconic Chandni Chowk market, known for its narrow lanes, ancient architecture and monuments, and vibrant street life.
The constituency comprises Adarsh Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, Shakur Basti, Tri Nagar, Wazirpur, Model Town, Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal and Ballimaran assembly segments. It is said to believe that ‘winning from this seat is like opening a doorway to power’.
Chandni Chowk has witnessed a dynamic political history, with leaders from different parties representing it.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been the Member of Parliament since 2014. This year, he “retired from active politics” and the BJP fielded Praveen Khandelwal as its candidate.
Meanwhile, Jai Prakash Agarwal, a veteran leader is the Congress’ candidate. Agarwal had won from the Chandni Chowk constituency in 1984, 1989, and 1996. This is one of the three seats, where Congress has fielded their candidates.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi under a 3:4 seat-sharing agreement. The AAP is contesting on four seats and the Congress on three seats. May 25 is the polling day in the NCT of Delhi.
Aggarwal on Monday thanked the party’s high command for nominating him to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Chandni Chowk seat in Delhi, saying he will fight to solve regional issues.
“I thank the Congress high command for believing in me and giving me a chance to serve the people of my constituency. To contest elections, one needs to have issues and plans. The major issue for traders in the region is GST. We will take up issues such as unemployment and inflation. I will be alert about the regional issues and fight for them,” the Congress leader added.
Agarwal is a known face in the constituency and will give a tough fight to Khandelwal, who himself comes from a family of politicians.
With just a few weeks left for Delhi to cast their votes, roadshows and rallies have started by the political leaders to woo their voters.
On Tuesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Praveen Khandelwal, sat down with the traders in the lanes of Old Delhi to discuss his ambitions if he is voted in power.
A North Delhi-based businessman with a law degree from Delhi University, Khandelwal founded and serves as Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) which works for the welfare of the business and trader community.
He has served on the GST Panel, raised the issue of foreign-based e-commerce companies edging out local businesses in the Indian market and is currently seeking to insulate the traders’ community from possible issues related to e-wallet companies. He is a former treasurer of the BJP’s Delhi unit.
Hence, his command of the traders’ community is strong. As the meeting with the Chandni Chowk traders ended, who gave him their support for the elections, Khandelwal sat in a rickshaw to start his second roadshow of the day.
In the narrow lanes of Sita Ram Bazar, one of the oldest, Khandelwal met the locals in the area. “I have grown up here. My house used to be here,” Khandelwal told The Citizen, showing an old kothi in the lane.
Outside, the shopkeepers peeped out from their shops as Khandelwal waved at them. “Most of the trader community is Baniya and Jains and they support the BJP here,” Vishni, who works in a steel shop just opposite Khandelwal's old house said.
On asking which way he thinks the wave is going, Vishnu smiled and said, “We think differently.”
Despite the road shows and rallies, the election season in Delhi seems bland this summer. Khandelwal, however, said that he started doing meets and roadshows soon after he was nominated.
Sitting in his car, Khandelwal told The Citizen, he is very confident about BJP’s win in Delhi. “We are winning all seven seats,” Khandelwal claimed. “Wherever I am going, people are supporting me and one of the reasons for that is the development done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.
Criticising AAP, Khandelwal said that all 10 MLAs from his constituency are from AAP and have done nothing to improve the situation in the areas. The constituency has old homes, narrow lanes and the structures deemed unsafe to live, he said, adding that there is open sewage flowing in many areas.
“All 10 AAP MLAs have done nothing. Cleanliness is such a major issue here. No development has taken place. I have wholesale markets in my constituency, but there has been no beautification of that. I am going to focus on all these things,” Khandelwal said.
However, the people think the increasing cost of living is a major issue.
As Khandelwal’s roadshow began, a parade of followers and hoards of vehicles stood to greet him. Khandelwal greeted everyone and the roadshow started leaving behind a trail of heavy traffic.
“Why disturb the people by doing all this,” a rickshaw wala snorted and tried to move forward.
In a corner of Kamla Market, where the roadshow went to, is a small grocery shop. Speaking to The Citizen, the small shop’s owner Praveen Chauhan, who had a BJP flyer with him said that people are not happy with any party.
“Honestly, we support AAP and probably the vote would have gone there, if they had not aligned with Congress,” he said.
Chauhan, who is uneducated, said that he has tried to analyse politics. “I have been staying here for the past 50 years. I have grown up here and seen many politicians. I have gone from supporting Congress to BJP. But right now, all I know is that the BJP is not good for the country,” he said.
Chauhan said that increasing cost of living has become unbearable and he feels if BJP comes to power, it is only going to get worse.
“Forget gold, we don’t have money to eat food now,” he said. Chauhan added that people are scared to speak about who they want to vote for as it may have repercussions for them.
Along Chauhan stood Kapil, who works as a security guard and lives near a jhuggi in the market. “I work 12 hours a day and earn Rs, 10,000. For me, earning a livelihood is more important. I do not care about politics as none of them will actually work for us. We used to vote for AAP but let us see now,” Kapil said.
On asking whether AAP’s vote will go to Congress candidates, Chauhan said, he did not think so.
Although Agarwal is a strong candidate, his lack of presence amongst the people have left many in sour taste. “Khandelwal is at least moving around. Everyone knows Agarwal, but he has not even come here once,” Vishnu said.
Experts believe that when one looks at the history of Chandni Chowk, people who have won this Lok Sabha seat in the last 20 years, have also become a part of the government at the Centre.
When BJP's Vijay Goyal won from Chandni Chowk in 1998 and 1999, Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government was formed at the Centre. Similarly, when Congress' Kapil Sibal won in 2004 and 2009, Manmohan Singh's government was formed at the Centre.
The constituency has always seen an interesting competition. There have been times when it has been a Congress stronghold.
The party's candidates have won nine times in the 15 Lok Sabha elections so far. Agarwal of Congress has represented it three times in 1984, 1989 and 1996. In the last election, Dr Harshavardhan snatched the seat from Congress leader Kapil Sibal.
A mix of many religions and cultures, many films have depicted the diversity of Chandni Chowk. The hustle bustle of wedding shoppers, to street food lovers, the vibes of the Walled City beckon everyone from all over the world.
Time is just an essence, when it comes to this area. The stories of how generations have visited the markets, the monuments and government officers is fascinating in its own sense.
But amidst the nostalgia is also the question of polarisation that has engulfed the country. In 2019, the area of Daryaganj and Jama Masjid witnessed violence, which thankfully did not hurt anyone. However, it left people with bad memories.
The Walled City is known for its harmony, and people of different religions living together peacefully.
Khandelwal on being asked whether polarisation has been an issue he has come across in this constituency, said he has not seen anything of that sort here.
“There is no issue of polarisation. Any scheme implemented by the prime minister, he has given any distinction and everyone has got advantage of it. I believe that people from all backgrounds are going to support BJP,” the BJP candidate claimed.
Meanwhile, Agarwal, accused BJP of not making any progress in the area and alleged that "there has been a complete blackout for 10 years."
"When I got to know that I have to contest the elections from here (Chandni Chowk), I started thinking about the issues I should take up first. However, I saw that there was not a single agenda on which work has started here," Agarwal said.
"There was a complete blackout for 10 years. So, now we will have to work hard from the beginning on the issues of the area and from the first day, you will hear my voice in the Parliament," the Congress leader said.
He claimed the people of the constituency face several issues but not a single question has been raised in the Parliament which was related to the people of the area or the traders.
"Old Delhi, which was also known as Shahjanabad, has different problems. We need to work on our outer areas where multi-storey flats, plotted areas and JJ clusters are there and solve their issues also," the 79-year-old Congress leader said.
Chauhan said that Congress has failed to impress people and its expectation of getting AAP votes is being delusional.
“Votes where Congress candidates are fighting will go to BJP. The main reason why voters stopped voting for Congress was because it failed to influence the voters and the same stays now,” he added.
All Photographs NIKITA JAIN.