Delhi’s Auto-rickshaw drivers still have a soft corner for Kejriwal

After Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Ministerial candidate of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) quit as CM of Delhi after 49 days of government in 2013, the equation between the auto rickshaw drivers and political parties has changed.

As Auto-Rickshaws are one of the most visible forms of public transport, the political parties use the vehicle to put posters and grab public attention. “Since 1990s, auto-rickshaw has become a crucial part of election campaigning, with political parties using them to display their flags,” said Abhinandan, who is associated to one of the auto-rickshaw union in Delhi. At present, as many as 85000 auto-rickshaws operate on Delhi roads. According to a government data, around 1.25 lakh people who are auto-rickshaw drivers by profession cast their vote in Delhi. The drivers constitute a sizeable chunk of the migrant population in Delhi-a vote bank which political parties cannot afford to ignore. “In 2013 Assembly Election, Kejriwal had used auto-rickshaws as one of the major tool of election campaign. It was one of the reason why AAP got so many seats. But the moment he quit as the CM, we all felt betrayed,” said Lakhan Singh, an auto-rickshaw driver who resides in Sector-5, JJ Colony in Vasant Vihar.

Even though the eight registered auto-rickshaw unions in Delhi are segregated in terms of poster war, still most of the drivers are in support of AAP. “It is very much true that those 49 days were the most peaceful days of our lives. Policemen had stopped harassing and exploiting us by asking for weekly-based bribe. We saved so much money. If Kejriwal comes into governance again, it would be a great relief for all of us,” Mahendar Rawat, another auto-rickshaw driver. Interestingly his vehicle carries a poster in support of Kiran Bedi, Chief Ministerial candidate for BJP. Rawat is associated to a union that is affilated to a political party.

The tagline of the posters in support of Bedi reads: “Meri Mukhyamantri Kiran Bedi: Auto Sewa Ke acche din’ (My CM Kiran Bedi: Good days for auto rickshaws), ‘Vikas bhi Imaan bhi, gareebo ka samman bhi’. Whereas, The poster in support of AAP features Kejriwal’s photo describing him as ‘honest’ Chief Ministerial candidate and Kiran Bedi as ‘opportunist’ with a question-’Delhi ka mukhyamantri kaisa ho? imandar (Kejriwal) ya avasarvadi (Kiran Bedi)? The major issue of the auto-rickshaw drivers are corruption and parking issue. “We are keeping a tab on the promises being made by the political parties. Whosoever makes promises that will resolve problems of an auto-rickshaw driver, we will vote for that party,” says Gafur Ali, an auto-rickshaw driver residing in Chhatarpur area.