The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kiran Bedi, on Tuesday, received a mixed welcome at East Delhi’s Krishna Nagar constituency after arriving to address party cadres in what was her maiden interaction with them after being anointed chief ministerial candidate a day earlier.
In tow was Dr. Harsh Vardhan, a Union Minister who has been an MLA from the Assembly constituency since 1993 and evidently continues to enjoy tremendous local support in spite of Ms. Bedi’s newly announced candidature from it by BJP president Amit Shah on Monday.
Slogans of “Dr. Harsh Vardhan zindabad” (long live Dr. Harsh Vardhan) clashed with “Kiran Bedi zindabad” (long live Kiran Bedi) as soon as both arrived at the middle-class, East Delhi neighbourhood and kept resounding throughout the event.
On his part, Dr. Vardhan introduced his former constituents to their new candidate as ‘behen (sister) Kiran’. “Our sister has come home to talk to us today,” Dr. Vardhan said at the conclusion of a protracted welcoming at a cramped basement functioning as a party office in the area.
Ms. Bedi chose to acknowledge, and seemingly respect, the support the gathering displayed for Dr. Vardhan without qualms and went to the extent of saying that she was expecting him to be the CM and would treat the constituency as a garden and him as a trusted advisor.
“Krishna Nagar is a very pure constituency, which is why I said that I will nurture this garden well. I’m going to be here temporarily only, as a caretaker. I hope Dr. Sahab will be at rest as this caretaker is also very effective and hardworking and knows the work which needs to be done. He’ll be my advisor, if I have any problem, I will go to him,” she said.
She promised longer interaction on Wednesday when she would file her nomination.
