Delhi : The battle for power in the East Delhi’s Krishna Nagar constituency is set to take an interesting turn this time with the Congress pitching in former BJP councillor V. K. Monga against Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the sitting MLA and BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections.

If the residents of the area are to be believed Dr. Harsh Vardhan has high chances for a fifth stint from Krishna Nagar. He has been the MLA from the constituency for the past 20 years. Dr. Monga, on the other hand, is equally popular among the residents for his honest image and people-friendly approach.

Both the parties, however, are confident of their victory. Talking about the issue, Congress candidate from Krishna Nagar, Dr. Monga told The Hindu over phone: “People still recognise me as Dr. Monga and by the work that I did for them as a Councillor here. I am getting a lot of love and support from the residents and am sure to win the election this time.”

Talking about Dr. Vardhan, with whom he worked closely for a very long time, Dr. Moga said, “Dr. Harsh Vardhan is a one-hour MLA. Nobody can meet him for the rest of the 23 hours of the day. He has overlooked many problems in Krishna Nagar during his tenure. The situation has gone from bad to worse.”

While Dr. Vardhan could not be contacted for comments, Chandrashekhar Sharma, the election in-charge of the BJP from Krishna Nagar, said, “Dr. Vardhan is known for his honesty and good work in this area. People trust and respect him for what he is and we are sure that he will win this time again. Dr. Monga does not hold a great chance of winning. People who support Dr. Vardhan will not support him and most of the people here support Dr. Vardhan.”

As per the residents of the area, the problems they face are supply of drinking water and water-logging during the rain.

Seventy-one-year-old Rajesh Atri, who has been living in Krishna Nagar for the last 50 years now, said, “I have seen this area developing in the last few years. However, there are still some issues such as supply of water and sewage. The drains are not cleaned on time because of which we face water-logging during monsoon. Although Dr. Vardhan keeps doing things for the benefit of residents, there is still scope for improvement.”

Another resident Ashok Saha, who runs a shop in the Krishna Nagar market and stays in the block behind the market, said, “Water-logging is a major problem in this area. Other than that there are no problems as such.”

On being asked about who would they chose this time, a number of people said that it would be a tough choice as both Dr. Vardhan and Dr. V. K. Monga had been a part of the same team and have a good public image.

Suresh Chaudhary, a Geeta Colony resident, said, “We have seen both Dr. Vardhan’s and Dr. Monga’s work. So, it will be a tough choice now to decide this time.”

The constituency is divided in four wards — Kondli, Krishna Nagar, Geeta Colony and Anar Kali. Population in almost all the areas consists of middle class people, both professionals and businessmen. The residents are more into business owing to the Krishna Nagar market, locally called the Connaught Place of East Delhi. Geeta Colony on the other hand has a population of working professionals. Kondli and Anar Kali comprise of lower middle class.