The swearing-in ceremony for the new Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta, and his council of six ministers marked the resumption of their work. The BJP government of Delhi under Rekha would have to face challenges. The new government has to tread a path full of thrones and as they say governance is not a bed of roses but instead is a bed of thrones and thus the BJP government has tread the path of governance carefully and cautiously to meet the promises made with the electorate of Delhi which is the national capital. Daunting challenges are in store for the new government, and they have to be faced up to bravely. There has to be a delicate balance struck between the fulfillment of promises and its commitments and governance. BJP government has to fulfill the promises made with the people and has come up to the expectations of the Delhites who feel abandoned because of them left in the lurch especially the middle class and salaried people. The BJP will have to tackle a variety of issues from financial management to big ticket electoral promises, to Yamuna cleanup before it gets down to administrative work Thursday. As the BJP is ready to take on the huge challenge of making fulfillment of poll promises from financial management to infrastructure development for the nation’s capital to get into administrative work from Thursday, the task before the new government will be nothing short of big. One of the biggest pledges that the BJP went to the hustings on was that its government would distribute Rs 2500 to the applicable women beneficiaries by 8 March.
The major challenges for Delhi’s new government can be listed as follows:-
A. Meeting promises :
Among the highest pledges in the BJP's election manifestos and campaign was the provision of Rs 2,500 of financial aid to the eligible women beneficiaries by March 8, on International Women's Day. The new government will face one of its biggest challenges in putting an efficient fund disbursal mechanism in place for this scheme in double-quick time. It must act promptly on the upcoming budget to ensure that budgetary allocations are made not just for this scheme but also for the aid promised to pregnant women at Rs 21,000.
B. Air pollution crisis:
Delhi’s harmful and hazards air pollution is a serious concern and problem ,especially during winter due to stubble burning ,vehicular emissions as well as industrial pollution. So implementing sustainable solutions, including expending green cover, promoting electric vehicles and improving waste management, will be the challenge for the BJP government in Delhi.
C. Waste and power supply issues:
Delhi continues to grapple with water scarcity and an irregular supply in many areas. ,further compounded by Yamuna’s pollution.BJP during recent polls had promised clean drinking water and uninterrupted electric supply particularly in peak summer months.
D. Law and order problem:
safety and security of women and alarming increase in crimes remain a pressing issue to be addressed by the new government. So strengthening policing measures and improving coordination with Delhi police will be a big challenge.
E. Maintaining welfare schemes:
It is worth noting that Arvind Kejriwal’s rise to power in the last two Delhi assembly polls was largely driven by welfare schemes, including free water, electricity and improved education in government schools. In the recent polls, BJP has promised to not only continue these welfare schemes but also add more vigor to these.
The new government faces the challenges of delivering on these promises while ensuring Delhi's fiscal stability and financial health. Balancing social welfare schemes with financial prudence will be a key test for the new administration. After historic wins in Delhi polls, the BJP face the challenge of fulfilling promises in cleaning Yamuna, providing freebies, and improving infrastructure while maintaining a tenuous balance in the budget. This is where the BJP now faces its biggest challenge-fulfilling its ambitious electoral promises while keeping a tab on the fiscal health of the state. BJP campaigned against issues like cleaning Yamuna, tackling garbage heaps, improving roads and streets, water supply, and sanitation, while highlighting the unfulfilled promises of the AAP in its Sankalp Patra. The BJP promised to fulfill Kejriwal's incomplete pledges and offered countless freebies. In reality, more than that, the daunting task awaits the BJP government to deliver these promises. The major promises of BJP include providing Rs 2,500 a month for poor women, Rs 21,000 one-time aid for pregnant women, LPG cylinders for the poor at Rs 500, and 2,500 pensions for senior citizens (Rs 3,000 for those over 70 years) and free education from Kindergarten to Post-graduate for children from poor families. But fulfilling these promises would not be an easy task in a strained budgetary atmosphere and financially stressed conditions for Delhi although the BJP holding power at the center would make things easier for the BJP government in Delhi.
The cleaning cost of the Yamuna River alone would have exceeded Rs 8,000 crore in the last few years, but in Delhi, it is in such disarray. With an approximate cost of Rs 10,200 crores, the upgrade of Delhi's government hospitals has been intended. The extension of the Delhi Metro to complete its third phase and develop into fourths is estimated to cost almost Rs 2700 crores. Given the constraints of finances, the husbandry government of BJP shall look upon the financial assistance from the center to accomplish these. After BJP's victory in Delhi polls, Virender Sachdeva, the BJP president, has claimed, "The center had offered financial assistance to the Delhi government before to implement projects such as Ayushman Bharat scheme, but AAP refused to deliver such benefits to people in Delhi. Now that BJP has been successful, we shall make funds available to meet our promises, plugging leakages and putting an end to corruption." Yet, it would take at least a month for the new government to finalize the budget for the next financial year, hosted expected to be tabled toward the end of March 2025. When the budget is brought out, it will give a picture of how the BJP intends to fulfill its promises made during the election campaign. Any which way, the challenges before the new BJP government are countless and both varied and daunting, but even as it is expected that the new government shall fulfill all such promises successfully; the question is: Within what timeframe will this government fulfill promises offered to the electorate? Best of luck to new Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her small team of ministers!
(Vivek Koul)
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