People feel voting for Congress is wasting vote, says Atishi ahead of Delhi election

Atishi, who contested her first assembly election ifrom Kalkaji in 2020, will once again contest from there.

Ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly election, Chief Minister Atishi said the Congress does not have a ground presence in the national capital anymore.

"There is a mindset among people that voting for Congress is wasting their vote. In Delhi, the election is a direct fight between AAP and BJP,” the Delhi CM told Times of India.

According to Atishi, the AAP is reaching out to Delhi voters with the work the party has done in 10 years and the promises for the next five years.

The Delhi CM told TOI that the BJP is obsessed with what Arvind Kejriwal wears, what he eats, and the house he lives in. “Its (BJP’s) agenda isn’t about real issues. Its manifesto is essentially a copy of AAP’s welfare-oriented model. For a decade, they’ve criticised us for offering “revdis”, a de- rogatory term they use for welfare schemes. And now they are promising the same. That only means they acknowledge what AAP did was essential for society,” she said.

Speaking about AAP’s key projects, Atishi said increasing the amount of the Mahila Samman Yojana from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,100 is a big-ticket welfare scheme. “The Sanjeevani Yojana will be the biggest welfare for senior citizens, for whom healthcare is the biggest concern. In infrastructure projects, two works are pending for us to focus on —cleaning of the Yamuna and improving the quality of roads,” she told TOI.

Atishi also rubbished opposition claims that Kejriwal cannot be the CM because of the Supreme Court’s restrictions. “Arvind Kejriwal is going to be CM. As far as I’m concerned, the party will decide my role after winning the election,” she said.

Atishi, who contested her first assembly election ifrom Kalkaji in 2020, will once again contest from there. She is up against BJP’s Ramesh Bhiduri and Congress leader Alka Lamba.

Bhiduri recently took a personal jibe at Atishi, claiming that "she changed her father". “It is clear that BJP doesn’t have much to show in terms of work. When we visit our constituencies, we talk about what we have achieved with electricity supply, water, schools, mohalla clinics and pilgrimage schemes. BJP hasn’t done any work, so what will it talk about? Over the past decade, Delhi govt has invested Rs 7,500 crore in metro construction, more than any other state, including the ones governed by BJP. When someone doesn’t have any work to showcase or a vision to share, they resort to personal attacks,” Atishi told TOI.