The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday tried to cut into the Poorvanchal vote base in Delhi as MP Manoj Tiwari campaigned for Model Town candidate Vivek Garg, whose “clean image” is what the party is banking on.
The popular Bhojpuri singer and film star campaigned for Mr. Garg in Model Town’s Lal Bagh, which is dominated by people from Poorvanchal — migrants from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Aam Aadmi Party’s Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, a Poorvanchali himself, had won from Model Town in the last Assembly elections.
An advocate and national convenor of the BJP’s RTI cell, Mr. Garg has been filing RTIs to reveal corruption in various government departments and the Congress government, and moved court against them.
Backtracking from his statement earlier this month, in which he criticised party chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi saying ‘we don’t need someone like a thanedaar ’, the BJP MP from North-East Delhi on Friday was all praises for Ms. Bedi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“ Dilli ke dil mein Bedi hai , yeh baat batani hai ...Congress, AAP ki ho gayi , ab BJP ki bari hai [Ms. Bedi is in the hearts of Delhi residents… the Congress and AAP have had their chance, now it is BJP’s turn],” sang Mr. Tiwari while addressing a gathering of over 300 people.
Politely declining requests from the gathering to sing one of his famous Bhojpuri songs, he asked the people to vote for Mr. Garg, who has been highlighting the alleged malpractices by Congress candidate Kanwar Karan Singh.
Mr. Garg has promised better infrastructure, schools and toilets, clean governance, cheaper ration cheaper milk for below poverty line card holders.