Delhi Congress President Arvinder Singh Lovely says Congress is confident about the upcoming Lok Sabha election, which is due in a few months. In a rendezvous with the Sunday Guardian, Lovely talked about the preparations that his party is contemplating for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Which are the preparations DPCC is going to make for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections?
A. DPCC has already started the preparations, as one can see that no other political party is moving as fast as Congress. In all 14 districts of Delhi, we had workers’ meetings. In all 7 parliamentary seats, we had workers’ conventions, and at least in 5 Lok Sabha seats, we had big public meetings, one of which was attended by Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge. The Delhi Congress is already preparing for the Lok Sabha election, and we are raising issues for the Delhiites and their problems. BJP MPs have been missing for the last 5 years and are not available to the people of Delhi. We are also raising that issue.
What are the agendas that Congress is advancing for the upcoming election?
A. See, there are many agendas but the most important agenda is regarding pollution.
Both the Central Government and the Delhi Government, to some extent, miserably failed to control pollution. Delhi, which was the greenest capital in the world, has now become the most polluted capital in the world. Today, the situation is that Delhi people’s age is decreasing. Even the children who are growing up in the mother’s womb are affected by pollution. This is what all the experts are saying. And why did the pollution happen in Delhi? They had promised that they would repair the landfill site. It has become more polluted than before, emitting methane gas, which increases the pollution even more. Not only this, but Delhi’s sewage system has collapsed, and as a result, carbon dioxide is adding to the pollution in Delhi. Metro, the biggest constructor, was known to finish its work before the time, but now Metro’s projects have been delayed for 5 years. Except for this, there is dust pollution in Delhi. Vehicular pollution has also increased because no new public transport mode has been introduced in Delhi. When we started the metro, there was a lot of dust there. I was the transport minister. We brought CNG buses, low-floor buses, and green and red buses. Today their lives are complete, and they are also creating pollution. Monorail and carports: there are many new modes of transport all over the world, but not a single one has been introduced in India in the last 10 years. Pollution in Yamuna was one of the major issues, and they only remember Yamuna during Chhat Puja. Their MPs get on a boat and take pictures. Then, after 5 years, they are seen on the boat.
What is your take on seat sharing? If it is happening, then what is your demand? How many seats is Congress looking for?
A. As far as the alliance is concerned, Congress, as a partner of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance, is fully committed. How many seats will come and whether the alliance will be there or not is not under my purview. As far as I am concerned, being the President of the Delhi Congress, we have kept our workers on 7 seats, and we are working on 7 seats. We will follow the orders of the party.
Will you contest in the upcoming poll?
A. No, I am the party president now, and my job is to ensure the organization functions well. Whatever the party decides, I will do it.
We are seeing that in the 2019 election, Congress gained a vote share. But in the 2014 election, Congress again lost the vote share; it is in third place. And after good work in 2019, in the 2020 election, the Vidhan Sabha election, they got the third position. So, how will you cater to increasing votes in this upcoming election?
See, the last 5 years have not been very good for Congress, I agree with that, but now we are strengthening our organization again. When the central election comes, people vote for national parties and see which party can take up national issues. So, naturally, Congress is the first choice, and I do hope we will do well in this Lok Sabha election.
What is your reaction on the Delhi BJP Chief’s remark when he said that either Congress will fight alone or fight with the alliance? They won’t get single seats in Delhi.
What else do you expect him to say? He will say this only. But why should people vote for the BJP? For the last 10 years, BJP MPs have been missing. The BJP is preparing to change all seven MPs. If they have worked well, why are they bent on changing the tickets? If they are changing the tickets, then it itself shows that even their party cadre is not satisfied.
As the ED and CBI are questioning AAP in various scams, has this hampered Congress’s vote share in the upcoming election?
A. See, it’s clearly a misuse of agencies to attain political agendas; nothing worse than that. India is called the mother of democracy.
The biggest democracy in the world is based on its image. You are using agencies to build your political agenda. So, it is unfortunate. The biggest beauty of democracy is that the opposition should be given its own space. They should try to stop it.