On a sunny morning in central Delhi’s Lodi Gardens, two men in their fifties were seen sitting on an iron park-bench facing the Bada Gumbad (big dome), sporting similar T-shirts: one in yellow, the other in white.
As another morning walker, brandishing a short stick to ward off stray dogs, approached the bench, one of them asked: “Did you get the T-shirt? We had sent it through Lalaji.” “I wanted a round-neck one,” he replied and they got into a conversation. The T-shirts the two men on the bench were wearing read the same message in orange block letters: “MODI ONCE MORE”.
From groups animatedly forecasting poll verdicts to old men distributing ‘Modi T-shirts’ and political leaders campaigning for the polls, one can feel the election heat rising this summer in the city’s parks. With Delhi heading for polls on May 12, The Hindu visited three parks — Lodi Gardens, Sanjay Jheel in east Delhi, and Priyadarshini Park in west Delhi — to lend an ear to the poll tattle.
More than 40 people were interviewed and needless to say, variedly interesting patterns emerged.
Many said they would choose “Narendra Modi” and not “BJP”. Strangely, the support-clan included those dissatisfied with the incumbent BJP MPs. Among the reasons they favoured Mr. Modi were “Balakot strike”, “action against Pakistan” and “national security”. A few also cited “stable government”.
Modi wave
The two men sporting Modi T-shirts, though, were reluctant to talk realpolitik.
Vinod Singh, 52, sporting a round-neck T-shirt with a similar message was chatty. A retired accountant at a private company, Mr. Singh, who hails from Rishikesh, is a volunteer in BJP’s Delhi unit. “About 10 days ago, at gate number 4 [Lodi Gardens], a businessman distributed the T-shirts. I took three and gave two to people at the next red light,” he said.
Vanita Kaushal, 63, and her husband Vijay Sharma, 67, sitting on a bench close to Shish Gumbad said they supported Mr. Modi and were convinced he would again become the Prime Minister. “He held Pakistan in a stranglehold, so we will vote for him,” Mr. Sharma said as his wife kept nodding. “If the opposition comes to power, it’ll be a mixed vegetable. Last time when gathbandhan happened, remember how [H.D.] Deve Gowda became the Prime Minister? He couldn’t even speak Hindi,” he said.
Mr. Sharma, a retired businessman, who is a pradhan in a nearby temple, said, “I’ll drop her [Vanita] home and go to Shaheed Bhagat Singh Park near our house [in Jangpura]. We have a discussion with friends from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. A retired judge too comes there.”
Sporting a white and pink floral hat, Manmohan Kalra, 76, was discussing politics with his friend at gate number 3 of Lodi Gardens. “He had the courage to go inside Pakistan and launch a strike. He will surely win,” he said. Mr. Kalra wasn’t always a BJP supporter. “When AAP was launched, I gave ₹1 lakh to [Arvind] Kejriwal, took him around the park and introduced him to everyone. There were photos of me standing next to him wearing a hat in newspapers,” said Mr. Kalra, who owned a four-star hotel in the city.
“We discuss politics here and I’ve sat in three groups till now. I’m going to do yoga and we will discuss politics there also,” Mr. Kalra said, adding that they plan to conduct an opinion poll.
At the parking lot of Lodi Gardens, S.N. Garg, (55), an RSS worker since childhood, was engrossed in a discussion about an election-related meeting. When asked why he supports the BJP, Mr. Garg, who runs a garments shop in Kotla, said: “Hindus should be united and only the BJP can do it.”
He then continued to talk to his friend, “You know what, [former PM] Atal ji stayed at my marriage for three hours. He was very close to my dad.”
Rajesh Kukriti, 64, a retired undersecretary from Petroleum Ministry, opined: “Indira Gandhi had launched the ‘garibi hatao’ campaign, but what happened? No one fulfils all promises, Modi also did not. But he is the best option and has an upper hand.”
The buzzwords keep repeating and linger in the air such as “strike”, “jhadu (AAP’s party symbol)”, “Pakistan”, “Modi”, “Congress”.
But as you move to the less affluent locales of Sanjay Jheel and Priyadarshini Park, the topic shifts to unemployment and GST. A group of four at Sanjay Jheel felt there was no workable alternative. “Vote for Modi, there is no other poll plank,” said Arjun Gupta, who runs an electronics shop in Pandav Nagar.
Sixty-two-year-old Vijay Naagar, who was also part of the group, said: “We are unhappy with MP Mahesh Giri [of BJP], but we will vote for Modi.”
For all the Balakot resonance, there were also those who questioned the ruling party’s claims. Forty-seven-year-old Ashok Varma and his friends sitting on a parapet along Sanjay Lake said: “They [BJP] should not tag anyone who question them as anti-national,” said Mr. Verma, who runs a business.
“Foreign media is saying that the strike did not happen. Yesterday also there was news on BBC Hindi. A child from the madrasa was telling about it. If it happened, where is the proof?” Mohammad Nasruddin, (45), a newspaper vendor from Mandoli, chimed in. “There is nationalism in everyone’s heart. We are Muslims, but that doesn’t mean we are not nationalistic. Because of the strike they will win, else they won’t,” he added.
“ Is aadmi ko nehi dega. A Prime Minister should be for the whole nation, not for a group of people. He should be above common debates,” Mr. Ashok stressed.
Upender Kumar, 40, and Ajay Kumar, 41, resting on the grass at Sanjay Jheel said they would not vote for Mr. Modi. “If it [strike] killed 300 people then where is the proof? Wouldn’t the families of these 300 make a hue and cry about it?” Mr. Ajay asked. “Of course, it [strike] has helped him. What else is he [Modi] saying in rallies? I’m from a village in Meerut and there, if people see something in TV [news], they believe ‘it has happened’,” Mr. Upender said.
Mr. Upender and Mr. Ajay said they had voted for AAP in the last Assembly election.“People know that Kejriwal can’t become the Prime Minister. Even if he wins all seven seats, how is he going to get full statehood?” Mr. Upender asked.
Both reiterated that they won’t vote for the BJP, but reckoned that Modi will retain power. A group of businessmen in Priyadarshini Park, who were sharing a meme on Union Minister Smriti Irani, echoed his views. “Our motto is ‘Modi hatao ’. We will vote for the Congress this time, but for the Assembly election, we will vote for jhadu . They have done good work in education and health,” said 60-year-old Inderjit Singh, who runs a garment store in Tilak Nagar.
Promises to keep
“Vijay Goel was here and around 40 people listened to him,” said a morning walker at Sanjay Jheel. Mr. Goel also visited Lodi Gardens and was seen talking to people.
“The AAP candidate [Balbir Singh Jakhar], had come to the park last week. He was requesting for votes,” said Mr. Singh.
“Kuldeep Chahal, who is hoping to get a ticket from the BJP had also come here,” Mr. Upender told Mr. Ajay as they stood up to leave.
“I was exercising at the gym [in the park] and told him that the machine was broken. He said he will fix it in a week. But it has been 10 days and nothing has happened. I won’t forget it.”
