Nearly five years after the BJP released its manifesto for elections to Delhi’s municipal corporations, over half the promises laid out in the document remain unfulfilled.
Analysis of manifesto
An analysis of the manifesto by The Hindu revealed that 44 tangible promises were made. Of these, six or 13.63% have been fulfilled, 10 or 22.72% partially implemented and 28 or 63.63% remain unfulfilled.
The manifesto was released here by the then BJP in-charge for Delhi M. Venkaiah Naidu, the current Urban Development Minister, on April 8, 2012. The BJP had been in power in the civic bodies for five years at that time. Listing its 2007-2012 achievements, the manifesto had spelt out the vision for the next five years.
As political parties get ready for civic polls on April 22, the legacy of the BJP in the corporations will be up for scrutiny. In a surprising turn of events, the BJP will not be fielding any of its sitting councillors in the polls. However, BJP councillors and office-bearers said they did their best despite not getting adequate funds from the Delhi government.
Subhash Arya, five-time BJP councillor and the Leader of the House in the South Delhi body at present, said the civic bodies had managed to deliver services and projects despite “lack of cooperation from the State government”.
Touting the SDMC’s green waste recycling programme as one of the biggest achievements, Mr. Arya said: “Of the total garbage, 400 tonnes was green waste. It’s being processed completely now.”
Vijay Prakash Pandey, the Leader of the House in the North body, said the BJP dispensation had a long list of accomplishments. “We managed to increase our revenue at a time the Delhi government was cutting our funds. The BJP will inform the public about these achievements in the upcoming campaign.”
‘Sheer incompetence’
The Opposition Congress, however, said the BJP had not only failed to fulfil many of the promises but also repeated the same goals every year in the budget proposals.
“It’s sheer incompetence and corrupt practises of the BJP that led to the current scenario. It’s true that the State government didn’t implement the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission, but the bodies also didn’t take its responsibilities seriously,” said SDMC Leader of Opposition Farhad Suri.
