Vikaspuri is an assembly constituency located in West Delhi. Its current MLA is Mahinder Yadav of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party. Yadav has been an MLA for Vikaspuri since 2013, getting re-elected twice in 2015 and 2020. Vikaspuri is a sprawling constituency comprising affluent residential areas along the Outer Ring Road to low-income housing areas to the west, such as Hastsal, Vikas Nagar and Ranhola along the Najafgarh drain.
In the last election, Mahinder Yadav garnered 55% of the votes, winning by a margin of 41,000 votes over his nearest opponent Sanjay Singh of the BJP. In the recently concluded MCD elections, AAP won all six wards in the Vikaspuri constituency, cementing its further dominance. In the election affidavits, Mr. Yadav has declared assets of 2.38 crores, his educational qualification as 10th pass and his occupation as that of a social worker. He has no pending criminal cases against him.
As the next assembly elections are nearing, it is pertinent to ask people how they would rate their MLA. Have the promises made 4 years ago been fulfilled? Do the people find their MLA accessible and cooperative? Is the support for AAP in the MCD elections a sign of people’s staunch loyalty to the state government or is it also an endorsement for their sitting MLA?
The Middle-Class Elite
To the east of Najafgarh Drain, Vikaspuri becomes an affluent area home to cooperative housing societies. These areas are home to the upper middle class of Delhi and a crucial swing vote in elections. I talked to many of these voters and asked them how they would rate their MLA. A president of a local society in F-Block told me, “Mahinder Yadav Ji has listened to the needs of people living in apartments. Now, many societies get funds for infrastructural improvements. Earlier, we did not have enough money for building a new road in our society or a gym, but we can now undertake the beautification of our society.”
I remember taking part in an election meeting that took place on the eve of the 2020 elections. Many office bearers of nearby housing societies had gathered and were invited as speakers. A retired military officer stood up and said, “Generally, it is perceived that the middle class is averse to politics as it considers it to be dirty. Politicians make promises but remain missing for 5 years. This time, I can say that it has not been the case. Whenever we used to go to Mahinder Yadav’s office for getting any work done, he would always listen to us.”
Despite the middle class elite forming a low proportion of the electorate as a whole and often apathetic to politics, Mahinder Yadav has been at the forefront at winning their support through the MLA funds. Mr. Yadav has provided funds from the MLA Local Area Development Scheme with special focus on housing societies and enable them to undertake any repairs in septic tank, electricity grid, water tank, drainage system, roads, parks and gyms etc. This is how Mahinder Yadav aims to gain the crucial support of the middle class elite in the elections. Most of them are not affected by the AAP government’s flagship policies of free 200 units of electricity, free 20,000 litres of water etc. Development for these voters constitutes local changes around their lives.
However, not everyone is entirely convinced. A resident of a society in D-Block told me, “Every year during monsoon, our society is flooded by 2-3 feet of water as our drainage system is broken. We were promised during the last election that we would have to no longer face the problem. Despite this, our drainage system has not been fixed.”
Bridging the Gap
MLAs also provide services to people by making government machinery accessible to people and saving the hassle of the bureaucracy. In the AAP office in Budhela, Mahinder Yadav runs a low cost Aadhar Card service center where people can get their Aadhar card details changed or get a new Aadhar card. A woman who works as a domestic worker had come to get her son’s fingerprint and photo changed. She told me, “I only get free time during the afternoons. How can I stand in long lines in the government offices or pay higher fees at private centers? This service is really beneficial for me.”
Several others also appreciated that Mr. Yadav had helped them get odd tasks completed. Rahul told me, “We had been trying to get the lift established in our building for a long time. He helped us in getting the file cleared from the government department. Who knows how long we would have to wait?”
Mr. Yadav has also been active in many social functions and gatherings in his constituency. This is an important part of the socialisation expected of any politician. Attending the weddings, funerals and family functions of close party workers or influential persons in the area convinces people that the MLA is “accessible” and “cares about them”.
However, a lot of people say that they did not see their MLA helping constituents during the covid pandemic. All help in the form of free food being distributed at the government school was done by the state government. Sumaiya who lives in a slum and works as a household help told me, “We did not see our MLA for the past 4 years. He did come to campaign during the MCD elections but what else. During covid, we did not see him active or help us in times of need. We still support the AAP but the MLA is the person we contact first. Where was he during the pandemic?
Performance in the Assembly
In a report by NGO Praja Foundation, Mr. Yadav scored low on his performance. In the 2022 report, he was given an E grade and scored 46.74 out of 100. He ranked 41st among 61 MLAs. He was given a D grade for attendance, F grade for ‘No of Issues raised’ and ‘Quality of Issues raised’ and A grade for ‘Least Criminal Record’. In the report for 2023, Mr. Yadav’s performance deteriorated and he slipped to 55th position among 61 MLAs. He scored 27 out of 100 marks and was given 0 for ‘No of Issues raised’ and ‘Quality of Issues raised’. This means that he raised no issue in the assembly in 2023. In the report for 2021, Mr. Yadav attended 10 out of 13 assembly sittings but raised no issue or question in the assembly.
Vikaspuri faces many urgent pressing problems like that of pollution, traffic, water logging, housing, healthcare etc. For an MLA to raise no question in the assembly suggests that problems conveyed to him are not getting passed on to ministers.
Unfulfilled Aspirations
Hastsal is a lower middle class area in Vikaspuri. Residents complain that they have no nearby government dispensary or hospital. They either go to private clinics or to hospitals in Janakpuri.
Najafgarh Drain is a big nuisance for people living within 500m of it. It not only percolates the ground and pollutes the water table but creates foul smell and a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Several slums have been built along the drain and entire families live in these cramped one room huts in unsanitary conditions. The drain hasn’t been cleaned for years and any cleaning operation is futile since heaps of garbage are thrown into it each day. The garbage blocks the drainage pipes and during heavy monsoon, this dirty drain water floods the roads each year.
Government Data shows that Mr. Yadav has undertaken many road construction and widening projects under the MLA LAD scheme. However, many interior roads are in a bad condition, have potholes and get broken during monsoon. A resident of Vikas Nagar told me that, “The road connecting Hastsal to Vikas Nagar is bumpy and hasn’t been fixed since it was dug up to fix a water pipeline.”
The 10 years of Mahinder Yadav as an MLA of Vikaspuri offer a mixed picture. While he is accessible to the people, his duties as a people’s representative often remain unfulfilled. The people deserve a hospital in their neighbourhood, proper housing instead of slums, a solution to the problem of Najafgarh Drain and inclusive development for colonies and low income flats too. As Mr. Yadav prepares for his re-election in about a year, he needs to listen to constructive criticism of his constituents and fulfill his promises made in the last election.
This story has been written as part of the My City Writers’ Training Program.
Featured image: From Mahinder Yadav MLA’s profile on X