Men and boys lined the first floor that connects Hotel All Iz Well and Hotel Hari Piorko in Paharganj to shower marigold petals in short intervals on a mini-truck on Wednesday afternoon. Every few steps from the head of the road leading to the Main Bazaar here, a table was heaped with rose petals, ready to be thrown in ‘Kiran didi’s direction when she passes by in a vehicle carrying the weight of giant loudspeakers.
Traders curiously looked out of their shops, cops saluted and party workers captured the Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi’s smiling face and victory signs on their smart phones. The joint effort of fire crackers, dholaks and motorcycle horns drowned an enthusiastic party worker’s voice appealing for votes for the BJP’s Karol Bagh candidate Yogender Chandolia.
Every now and then, he also added: “Kiran ji has a sore throat” explaining away any doubts on why the former cop was not addressing the audience. As if on cue, Kiran didi smiled and showed the victory sign and threw garlands at very specific people in the crowd.
Karol Bagh, a reserved seat in the New Delhi parliamentary constituency, is divided into four mandals according to mahila morcha member Sonia Khanna. In the Paharganj mandal the BJP was ahead by 500 votes in the 2013 Delhi Assembly polls.
The Aam Aadmi Party bagged the Assembly seat though, with its candidate Vishesh Ravi, who will contest once again from here. AAP volunteers come every day, says S.N. Sharma, a small sock-trader who had cleared a table on which he usually displays his wares to make way for rose petals. “We welcome Kiran ji , but we will follow our heart when we vote,” he says.
Motorcycles and people jostled for space as party workers began a chant repeating the word ‘kamal (lotus)’ in an attempt to appeal for votes for a “stable government” and “for full majority”. Further up the road, Ms. Bedi’s vehicle stopped and seated nearby were senior citizens Vidya and Rani. She waved to catch their attention, and then threw a rolled up saffron scarf towards them.
The scarf fell on the road and was promptly picked up by a party worker and handed over to Vidya who looks older than her 60 years. Printed on the cotton cloth was ‘Hare Ram, Hare Krishna’ with an image of Lord Shiva. “My children are unemployed. My 40-year-old son makes some money by driving an auto and it’s not sufficient to run a house. I will vote for a party that will help change our situation,” says Vidya, who makes a couple of hundred rupees a day selling knick knacks like nail cutters and small locks. “Who will do that is yet to be decided.”
