With Tytler gone, BJP sniffs chance of winning NE seat

NEW DELHI: A day after Congress removed Jagdish Tytler as the Lok Sabha candidate from north-east Delhi, the atmosphere at the local BJP office said it all a palpable sense of anticipation was apparent even as workers talked about the possibles who could now be fielded by Congress. And though B L Sharma Prem, BJP's hopeful, preferred to take a politically correct line by saying that Tytler's ouster didn't impact as the saffron party would win anyway, his workers were more forthcoming.Said a senior party sewak, "The seat's as good as in our kitty. Whoever comes in now will be facing an uphill battle.''
Prem obviously agrees. He's all ready to file his nomination on Saturday of course, after due consultation and blessings from five Khalsa nihangs and five Hindu pandits. Said Prem, "I am ready to go to battle. Tytler's ouster means nothing, because he had no base in this constituency. Mein dharti sey juda hua hu, mujhe isliye koi chinta nahi hai (I'm connected to the grassroots, so have nothing to fear).'' The RSS stalwart claims his confidence stems from his "historic'' wins by large margins against erstwhile Congress presidents like HKL Bhagat and Deep Chand Bandhu, in 1991 and 1996 respectively.
Away from the rhetoric, sources admit that the Tytler issue has played into BJP's plans quite well. "With Tytler gone, there are a number of issues which will come into play. First, anyone coming in now as the Congress candidate will be facing hostile Tytler supporters. While only Timarpur remained from his older Sadar constituency, it was still a sizeable support base. Adding to this would be Ram Babu Sharma's supporters, especially in Rohtas Nagar, where his Assembly seat is being eyed by his son. If the Congress doesn't give Sharma's son the ticket, his supporters are also going to be upset,'' said the source. The NE Parliamentary constituency has 10 Assembly seats viz. Timarpur, Seelampur, Rohtas Nagar, Seemapuri, Ghonda, Gokulpur, Mustafabad, Burari, Karawal Nagar and Babarpur.
That's not all. BJP's hoping that Congress would opt for either Mateen Ahmad or JP Agarwal, the DPCC chief, for the NE seat. "If it's Ahmad, then BJP gains, as there'll be a polarisation of votes, with the BSP candidate, who is also Muslim, cutting into the Congress share. And if it's Agarwal, then too BJP has nothing to fear, as his support base is Chandni Chowk, and he has barely 20 days to make an impact when he's had no interaction with voters in the area,'' say BJP insiders.
That the optimism is running strong in the BJP camp is also apparent from the spurt in campaigning activity that NE suddenly saw on Friday. Sources claimed that Prem had been out, with meetings scheduled throughout the day. Prem had his own take of course. "I am connecting with voters, and trying to understand the issues that are important. Meetings are geared towards that,'' he insisted.