Praveen Khandelwal has been declared as BJP’s candidate from Delhi’s Chandni Chowk seat in its first list of candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections, likely to be held in several phases in April and May this year.
BJP decided to introduce new faces by replacing four of Delhi’s incumbent MPs, including former Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi, Ramesh Bidhuri and Hans Raj Hans. BJP fielded Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk seat, late Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri Swaraj from New Delhi, Kamaljeet Sherawat from West Delhi and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri from South Delhi.
The Sunday Guardian talked on various issues to Praveen Khandelwal, who is also secretary general of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which is India’s largest body of traders & SME sector. He expressed his confidence that BJP would emerge victorious on the all the seven seats of Delhi by repeating its performance of last two polls held in 2014 and 2019 under the able leadership of PM Narendra Modi.
Q: On what issues, you are going to seek votes for coming Lok Sabha elections?
A: Under the magical leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will win all 7 constituencies in Delhi, including Chandni Chowk, from where the party has given me the opportunity to serve the people. On one side, Delhi had a failed AAP government under Arvind Kejriwal, while on the other hand, the Centre had 10 years of successful governments under the guidance of Narendra Modi. We will promote ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ in every house in Delhi, as ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ means ‘Guarantee of Completion’. And BJP will win by a record margin of votes.
Q: What’s your take on the AAP-Congress alliance?
A: Aam Adami Party and Congress alliance is a baseless and meaningless alliance. There is no alliance between them; first, they abuse each other, and then, for the sake of power, they come together. The people of the country will not take them seriously, as here in Delhi they are coming together while in Punjab they are contesting against each other, so there is no challenge for us. The electors of Delhi, along with those of India, will only vote for BJP, as PM Modi’s guarantee is the biggest guarantee of the country.
Q: What is your vision for Chandni Chowk, which is the smallest among all the seven constituencies of Delhi?
A: It is not a smaller constituency. It is as big as any other constituency in Delhi as it has more than 16 lakh registered voters, and I am getting equal support from all the communities in the constituency. I will work for them in every possible manner I can. I am glad that our Honourable Prime Minister has given me the opportunity to serve my people and promise that the BJP will win Delhi’s all 7 seats, including Chandni Chowk.
Q: What are your top priorities for Chandni Chowk Constituency?
A: Among top priorities for Chandni Chowk constituency are promotion of ease of doing business, simplification of taxation process, and advocating for more relaxed licencing norms for business operating in the area, as Chandni Chowk, known as Delhi’s largest shopping centre, holds significant influence and boasts a substantial voter base from the traders’ community.
Q: What will be your priorities for congested areas of this constituency?
A: We will fix it after winning the election. We have some priorities, including traffic, loading and unloading etc. We will solve all these problems as soon as I become a Member of Parliament.
Q: How will BJP increase its vote share in this election?
A: We will definitely increase our vote share, let me start my campaign. It’s my promise to all the people in my constituency that whatever Prime Minister did in the last 10 years, we will do more than that in the coming 5 years.