A recent entrant to the Congress fold and an erstwhile dedicated campaigner for his father-in-law Bharatiya Janata Party’s Professor Jagdish Mukhi during the Lok Sabha polls last year, Suresh Kumar will be on the opposing side of the spectrum in West Delhi’s Janakpuri during these Assembly polls.
You’re in direct competition with your father-in-law and prominent BJP leader Prof. Mukhi. Doesn’t that make it difficult to sit across him at family occasions?
Elections are fought not by one individual pitted against another, but by one ideology against another. We may be from the same family, but our political perspectives are as different as are our ideas, ways of functioning as well as addressing issues.
What does a relatively younger candidate like you have to offer Janakpuri compared to a seasoned leader like Professor Mukhi?
He is definitely a more experienced politician and leader, but it is because of the many responsibilities that his position entailed that he gradually got farther and farther away from the Assembly and its residents. His vision got narrower in terms of local issues as a result. On the other hand, I am a local who was born and brought up here. I am aware of the issues, the people and their problems. I’m more attuned to local grievances than him.
So what, according to you, are the issues that need to be addressed in the constituency?
People think that Janakpuri is a posh locality. But that is not so. It has both planned and unplanned colonies, with Pankha Road acting as a barrier between issues of sewage in the former and water and electricity prices in the latter. There needs to be a concerted effort to solve these from the grassroots-upwards.
What is your prediction about your party’s performance in the upcoming polls?
The mood on the ground reflects that we will get between 20 and 25 seats. The Delhi Cantonment Board elections have adequately reflected public sentiment in our favour. We have, are and will continue to fight on the plank of development.
