AAP pushes to woo Dalit voters ahead of Assembly elections

Eyeing Dalit voters ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in 2025, Chief Minister Atishi on Thursday visited the Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir, offering floral tributes at the temple on the occasion of Valmiki Jayanti.

Committed to regularising sanitation workers

Chief Minister Atishi underscored the impact of key figures like Maharishi Valmiki and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in shaping the administration’s policies. She said their administration was committed to regularising sanitation workers and ensuring timely salary payments, unlike past administrations.

After the visit, Atishi shared snippets from the visit on her X handle stating, “Visited the Valmiki Temple at Panchkuian Road on the occasion of Bhagwan Valmiki’s Prakatotsav and sought his blessings.”

The national capital has 12 reserved Assembly seats, and all of these were won by the AAP in the Assembly elections in 2020. However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP outperformed the INDIA bloc (AAP and Congress) by winning eight out of the 12 assembly segments.

“The pen in Bhagwan Valmiki’s hand is a reminder that anyone, no matter how marginalised, can progress in life through education,” she said.

“Bhagwan Valmiki taught that education is the path to societal advancement. Following his guidance, we are committed to providing world-class education to every child in Delhi. The progress of our society is directly linked to the education of our children,” the CM added.

On Wednesday, the Delhi Government had regularised the services of 607 sanitation workers in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

Atishi, speaking to a gathering, said the Kejriwal government’s efforts aimed at uplifting the underprivileged, particularly through initiatives in education and the regularisation of workers. She underscored the impact of key figures like Maharishi Valmiki and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in shaping the administration’s policies. “Our administration is committed to regularising sanitation workers and ensuring timely salary payments, unlike past administrations,” she said.

While, Mayor Dr Shelly Oberoi, delivering a message from Arvind Kejriwal, congratulated the newly regularised workers. “We are fulfilling our promises, including representation for the Dalit community.”

The broom party is also pushing to make a Dalit Mayor, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal urged the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to expedite the mayoral elections, stressing the importance of electing a member from the Dalit community to the role.

He accused the BJP of orchestrating a “conspiracy” to deprive the Scheduled Caste community of its rights by delaying the elections.

Recently, with the newly set-up Delhi Cabinet, AAP brought a new face with the introduction of Dalit leader and MLA Mukesh Ahlawat from Sultanpur Majra in the backdrop after two Dalit leaders — Rajendra Pal Gautam and Raaj Kumar Anand — left the party citing non-representation.