Delhi BJP to woo Purvanchali voters via social media campaign

NEW DELHI: Politics over Chhath Puja has started boiling in the national capital. The Delhi unit of BJP has attacked the AAP over the issue of Yamuna water quality. On the other hand, the AAP has raked up the issue of waste management in the capital.
According to political analysts, the upcoming MCD elections are going to be see aggressive posturing. Keeping the narrative war set by the political slugfest in mind, the Delhi BJP has started chalking out plans to corner AAP on the issue of the dirty Yamuna river.
Chhath Puja is a major festival predominantly celebrated in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and the vast population from these states has migrated to the national capital. This has made Chhath a major festival in Delhi. “Chhath is a major festival of Bihar and many people from Bihar have migrated to eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh. This migration has made Chhath an important festival in UP too. In the last decades, millions of people migrated from these areas to the national capital, making Chhath a notable festival,” a BJP functionary said.
“These migrants form a strong voter base which is decisive in many seats in the capital. Our main target is to woo these voters via the issue of Chhath Puja being celebrated in the dirty water of Yamuna,” he added. The BJP’s social media team has been asked to corner AAP on the issue. “This will have a long impact. Keeping the Purvanchali population in mind we will run a campaign on social media,” a member of the BJP social media team said.
According to BJP leaders, AAP is trying to dilute this matter by bringing up the issue of waste management. On 27 October, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the Ghazipur landfill site and targeted the BJP for its mismanagement of landfill sites in the capital. A face-off between workers of both parties also took place at the site.
Purvanchalis make up around 30-32% of Delhi voters. According to census data, two out of every three new migrant to Delhi were from UP and Bihar. “Most of the Purvanchali voters reside in unauthorized colonies and parts of North-East Delhi and West Delhi are places where they have a good hold. Recently, it has been noticed that these voters have shifted to AAP from Congress,” Harinder Rathore, political analyst and senior journalist said. BJP feels that is the need of the hour to align these voters with the party because their mandate is decisive on around 100-150 wards in the capital.