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IN the past, Chandni Chowk was true to its name. There was jheel. There was earth with sweet scent. But it is gone over the period. Now there is acute shortage of water, power.

I serve the Muslim and trading comunities whether I am their direct representative or not. I'll do it because I am the son of Chandni Chowk

'I am willing to say goodbye to 'Rajya' and come to the 'Lok' if called upon.

WITH the young BJP winner from Chandni Chowk, Vijay Goel, Union Minister for Sports and Youth, being nominated by his party to fight from the Sadar Lok Sabha constituency, earlier won by the present Rajasthan Governor Madan Lal Khurana, furious battlelines have been drawn for the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat. Both the BJP and Congress are scouting for a winner from this most prestigious cultural and metropolitan constituency in the country.

In a bid to spot the possible winners in the Lok Sabha 2004 poll panorama, The DayAfter Think Tank focused on a leader of the Vaish community, sitting member of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, M.M. Aggarwal. Born and brought up in Chandni Chowk, he has become the Rajya Sabha member as an Independent from UP. He seems to be inclined to fight from this constituency, if offered the candidature with a motto-----"To make Chandni Chowk the real Chandni Chowk once again".

In a face-to-face interaction with The DayAter editor Sunil Dang and Think Tank director Yogendra Bali, he politely and clearly said that he had not sought a ticket from any political party to contest the Lok Sabha poll, but if called upon by national leaders of a major political party, he would certainly consider the "battle for Chandni Chowk" as a privilege
because that was the place of his birth and stronghold of the Vaish trading community to which he belonged and whose interests and problems he had been consistently advocating and taking up for solution, even while he did not neglect the problems of the trading community spread over Uttar Pradesh too, from Kanpur to Agra.

There were many who had raised the issue that the Walled City of Shahjehanabad, that is the real Chandni Chowk, did not seem to be on the political agenda. It was an area in the Capital which was just over 10 sq.kms but had a huge population density and multiplying problem. It could have been a heritage site but years of neglect had left it with neither grandeur nor pride. But The DayAfter discovered that the Walled City and its problems were a top priority on the personal and political agenda of M.M. Aggarwal whether he might or might not decide to accept any offer for contesting the Lok Sabha seat.

When asked with a comfortable berth in the Rajya Sabha and nearly three more years to go, why should he take the risk to fight for the Lok Sabha from Chandni Chowk? His simple and straight answer was "Because I love Chandni Chowk and I’m a son of the most prestigious metropolitan centre which has always remained as pride of India for a thousand reasons". Asked a hypothetical question whether he would agree to contest from a constituency if offered a ticket even by the Congress, he smiled and said that if the Congress high command Sonia Gandhi felt that I was the right representative for the area and asked me to stand up for it, I would consider a privilege to fight the battle for Chandni Chowk. It might be pointed out that the constituency had become a BJP stronghold and the Congress contender from the area had been defeated thrice from there. But most people across the political parties felt that M.M. Aggarwal could be a winner, if he was put up as the man from Chandni Chowk. But that is the scenario before the Congress and the BJP have announced their candidates from this constituency.

To focus on the poll panorama from the Chandni Chowk, The DayAfter presents some excerpts from the nearly two-hour long interaction with the man from Chandni Chowk, M.M. Aggarwal.

The DayAfter asked him a question that even though various political parties were trying to pursuade him to stand up for the Lok Sabha constituency from Chandni Chowk, why was he hesitating to make his choice? He said "If Sonia Gandhi tells me I shall certainly stand up. Five years back they had offered me the Congress ticket for Chandni Chowk and then at the last minute made the choice of Jai Prakash Aggarwal as the Congress candidate. But he lost. So, until I am assured of the ticket, I will certainly not ask for it." When confronted with the proposition that if the Congress leaders like Ahmad Patel pressurised or the Congress High Command asked him to stand up and fight, Aggarwal said, "If the Congress High Command says so, I will certainly fight for Chandni Chowk even though I will have to sacrifice my remaining term in the Rajya Sabha". He said he was willing to say goodbye to "Rajya" and come to the "Lok" if called upon.

It was pointed out to him that he was a soft-tempered and soft-spoken person but the battle for the Chandni Chowk would be a harsh battle and if he was asked by the Congress High Command to contest, what would be his issues and agendas for this constituency?

He said his top priority issue for the Chandni Chowk area would be enforcement of proper law and order. And the second most important issue would be to ensure a sane flow of traffic. There will be three main issues to remain - Bijli, Paani and Sadak - among other pressing problems.

When it was pointed out that Chandni Chowk today had neither Chandni (light), nor Chowk (open free squares and streets), he said, "Given a chance, I would try to bring back both light and space to this place. I would want my birthplace to regain some of its lost glory and prestige."

He agreed that Chowk from Chandni Chowk had completely vanished because of encroachments and appearance of unauthorised commercial and other structures.

Asked if he saw any winning personality or some winning factors for the Lok Sabha battle for Chandni Chowk, he said that at the moment he could not see a winning personality or a winning factor for the Congress which would possibly have to work out its strategy only after the BJP had declared its candidate from the constituency. He said 40 per cent was the Muslim vote and more than 32 per cent "bania vote" or the vote of the trading community to which he himself belonged to. He was the national leader of the Vaish Sabha and as such had been in the forefront in projecting and fighting for the social and economic problems of the community for many years in Delhi and other parts of the country. He assumed that if he stood up from Chandni Chowk he hoped to get the majority vote of the Muslims and the banias and other sections of Delhiwallas in Chandni Chowk -- the heart of a city which took pride in considering itself the heart of the country.

When asked about his response to the problem that Chandani Chowk was under distress because the trading community felt distressed due to various oppressive factors, he said, "Chandani Chowk even today is the greatest mart in the country. And believe me whatever problems come up before the trading community, I am the one who is called upon by them to help solve them and they know that I do my best to solve them. I try to help solve the problems that block and hamper healthy and profitable trading for which Chandni Chowk was famous for centuries.

Replying a question that now he is helping this area’s people as a volunteer today but if he became the representative of the Chandni Chowk in the Lok Sabha, what difference would it make to his responsibility to his constituency, he said, "I serve them today whether I am their direct representative or not. Of course, being a member of the Rajya Sabha, I am an MP and the people here call me "M.P." Whether elected or not, they know that I shall continue to serve Chandni Chowk and its people because I am a son of Chandni Chowk and belong to them."

He recalled that his childhood was spent in Chandni Chowk and said "These were the days when Chandni Chowk was true to its name. At that time the jheel - or the waterfront in the area was also there. The sprinklers came in the summer afternoons to sprinkle water over earth which effused sweet scent but now there is no earth, no sprinklers come. There is acute shortage of water. Like the rest of Delhi there is shortage of water and power. He said, "I am not trying to criticise any particular person for this, but the factor remains that despite all other shortages there is no shortage of population. The population explosion is at the root of most of the problems of the metropolis. The solution is to provide sufficient resources and infrastructure to meet the challenges."

Where would the resources come from, The DayAfter asked. He said, "You see Sheilaji- Chief Minister Sheila Diskshit - has taken some great steps. She privatised power. But here is massive theft of power. I shall help control the power theft. There is abundance of power but there is greater abundance of power theft. That needs to be controlled. Even the Supreme Court has ordered that full vigilance should be maintained on power theft. And whosoever steals power should not be allowed to go scot free. Inflated and wrong bills were no doubt a problem, but they were often the result of computer errors and system errors too. They would certainly have to be corrected. Crooks had to be dealt with. In fact, some had been apprehended too. Give me a chance and I will make Chandni Chowk shine."

Replying a question of Sunil Dang, "What are the three main things that you advised the members of your community during the last three years?", Aggarwal said "One, being about awakening within you. Became aware of your local and national problems, Come to the political fora to help meet challenges and problems, your own and those of the rest of the nation. Just earning profits is not our only aim. We have to do a lot for the rest of the community too. We must serve the nation to our best capacity. Do not just build dharamsalas, where a school is needed build a school. Where people are thirsty, provide piaos, the drinking water booths.

Did he have any agenda for making Chandni Chowk a role of metropolitan development for the megalopolises of India? He was fair and generous in his answer to acknowledge that the BJP representative from Chandni Chowk, Vijay Goel, too had made some earnest efforts to improve the face of Chandni Chowk and solve some of its ticklish problems. But he was unable to do all that he sought to do and that needs to be done. He was considered slightly non-secular and could not get all the support and response from the Muslim population of the constituency. He did try to do things on the basis of as much cooperation as he got but I feel that I can get the cooperation of both Muslims and Hindus"

It was pointed out to him that the problems of the Muslim areas of Chandni Chowk were more acute and abiding compared with the problems of the non-Muslim areas of the lacality. The streets were narrow and dark, the sewage system was almost non-existent. How would he do justice to them and tackle their problems? He said, "That can be done, but with their own cooperation. We shall have to provide money, resources and infrastructure to help tackle their problems. This area was called the Shahjehanabad".

Reminded of the traumatic days when efforts to improve the Turkeman Gate, when Jagmohan was Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, created riotous situation, he said, "Whatever was done at that time was done with the force of authority and the authority of Sanjay Gandhi, but now what has to be done is to be done with the power of persuasion. Sanjay Gandhi was Sanjay Gandhi but everyone cannot become Sanjay Gandhi."

He agreed that according to the culture and tradition of the Aggarwal society, his instruments of change and development would be polite persuasion and pleading and not aggression and pressure. He said that in his way of personal and public life, any kind of pressure and authoritarianism against the people was out of question.

How will the battle for Chandni Chowk ultimately turn out, nobody knows. But by acknowledging Aggarwal's devotion for betterment of this locality, one can say that he will fulfill the aspiration of people if he stands up as a candidate for Lok Sabha election from this prest- igeous and heritage-rich constituency.

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