Filing nomination papers proved to be a daunting task for several independent candidates.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Breaking away from the usual rhetoric of welfare schemes, identity  politics, muscle power, and blame games, several Independents are contesting the poll driven by a desire to address specific concerns in their constituencies that have been “ignored” by major parties like AAP, BJP, and Congress.

While these  parties have announced schemes for women, unemployed youth, Dalits, and priests, many Independents believe “this is not the model Delhi needs”.

In the Nerala Assembly constituency in west Delhi, Budiya, a 49-year-old woman, told The Hindu that she had worked with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress as a ‘karyakarta’ (party worker), but the “two parties failed her” as there were “no visible development” in her area.

Ms. Budiya, who goes by a single name, said when she decided to contest the upcoming election, a lawyer in her locality helped her fill the nominations.

For Prakash Srivastav, who works as a lift repairman, filling nominations for the Kirari assembly constituency in north-west Delhi was challenging as he was primarily educated and faced difficulty collecting documents and filling up forms. “I am not well educated. I want to make sure that no kid in my area remains uneducated. I am upset as parties are busy offering freebies, but no one is talking about development,” the 32-year-old Kirari resident said.

Ashish Kumar, 29, an Independent from Seemapuri Assembly in north-east Delhi, is contesting to improve government schools and the water supply, generate employment opportunities, and reduce crime.

But for Hari Kisan, who is contesting from Bawana of north Delhi, the aim is to get rid of money and muscle politics. “I am sick of the political parties fighting on the strength of their money. I want to make people in my area aware of this politics. I want to stand as an alternative,” the 32-year-old resident said.

‘Arduous procedure’

Several Independents claimed that they had to run pillars to post to file nomination papers. The contestants said they didn’t have money to afford a Chartered Accountant or a lawyer who could help them collect documents and submit them, and with little or no exposure, they had to do it all alone.

Dharamveer, 31, a candidate from the Madipur Assembly constituency in west Delhi, said that if an advocate had not helped him, he would not have been able to file the nomination papers.

In fact, Meghnad Sahasrabhojanee, a 35-year-old political content creator, decided to file his nomination from Malviya Nagar as a social experiment to know what it takes for an Independent to file nominations.

“Honestly, even as somebody who has worked in political circles, the process was tedious. There were so many points where different officials would tell me different information.” He said the process is a little tedious, but the officials were mostly helpful.

“Contrasting to my experience, candidates from political parties had the strength of lawyers, CAs and party people who would ensure that everything was in order. Independents are allowed to contest but the level playing field is so skewed that these candidates always find themselves at a disadvantage not just at the nomination level but also at the campaigning level,” he added.