New Delhi: Nestled between middle-class colonies of Janakpuri on one side and the dingy industrial settlements of Mayapuri Industrial Area on the other, the Hari Nagar assembly constituency is set to witness an interesting fight - but between the AAP and BJP with Congress nowhere in sight. Residents in the area continue to be troubled with poor sewage systems and increasing petty crime in addition to traders having to deal with sealing problems. Pollution, security and sanitation have emerged as the hot-button issues while voters in the area and they are also looking at the AAP governments work in education, healthcare and power. And of course, it will be interesting to see which way the Sikh vote swings given that BJP has decided to drop its long time ally SAD. The assembly constituency is known for two of its largest voter segments - the Sikhs and traders and the electorate here has consistently voted for the BJP or its ally Shiromani Akali Dal since 1993 when the seat was carved out - till the Aam Aadmi Party came into the fray. AAPs Jagdeep Singh was reelected from the seat in 2015 after defeating Avtar Singh Hit of BJP-SAD with a margin of over 25,000 votes. While around 1.1 lakh people voted in 2015, Hari Nagars voter roll has gone up by over 10,000, with over 1.74 lakh people set to cast their ballot on February 8. And given the voting pattern of residents in the area, Hari Nagars fight has come down to a political brawl between the AAP and the BJP. Gurmeet Singh (56), an auto driver who has lived in Hari Nagar all his life said that they have not taken Congress name since the 1984 Sikh massacre. "For us Sikhs, we have not even thought about Congress since all of that happened. So many of my extended family members were victimised at the time," he said, adding that sanitation and proper sewage systems are the top issues for him. While the more affluent colonies suffer from problems of drainage water entering roads and homes, the families of areas like Khajan Basti near Mayapuri Industrial Area are thinking about running water and enough public toilets. Rani (42), a maid working in Janakpuri households said that her area still does not get running water and only gets intermittent visits from water tankers. "We still dont have toilets in our area and have to go outside to relieve ourselves," she said. However, AAP seems to have won back the trust of traders in Mayapuri who say that the handling of the 2019 sealing incident was very honest and upfront. Ravinder Singh (47), a trader in the area said that AAP leaders said that they would look into it and soon their shops were opened up again. "We told our MLA that the sealing was not right, he said he will look into it and we found that the DPCC had not even surveyed our shops before sealing them. But eventually, the shops were sureyed and most were allowed to open up again," Ravinder said. But other traders complained of poor road infrastructure in the area which is affecting their businesses. The swing vote A large chunk of the voting population Hari Nagar is Sikh and have a strong hold over which candidate might take the cake. After having experienced a BJP MLA from 1993-2008, some voters have said that they want to vote for AAP now. "We used to ask for help from the BJP MP and he never addressed our problems," said Surjeet Singh (33), a resident who had voted for SAD-BJP candidate in 2015. Interestingly, a lot of swing voters said that they are happy with the work the AAP government has done in education and healthcare. Surjeet said that the change in children is noticeable. "Teachers are teaching, facilities are great, students are performing – what else do you need?" he asked referring to Delhi government schools. Besides, swing voters maintained that they would vote for BJP at the Centre but would choose AAP in Delhi, hinting that AAP might have an edge come February 8.

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