Deputy Mayor Ravinder Gupta distributing refrigerators in the Karol Bagh area to woo voters from the lower strata of society. Deputy Mayor Ravinder Gupta distributing refrigerators in the Karol Bagh area to woo voters from the lower strata of society.

Trust our political class to come out with ingenious ways to reach out to the voters. Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, the deputy mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation has been distributing refrigerators to the poor in this wedding season.

Deputy mayor Ravinder Gupta, a BJP councillor from the Karol Bagh ward, has reportedly distributed nearly a dozen refrigerators in his area to woo the voters from lower strata of society. The deputy mayor is a ticket aspirant from the Sadar Bazaar Assembly constituency.

Interestingly, the BJP-led North Delhi Municipal Corporation has failed to distribute sewing machines to the daughters of widows and women from weak backgrounds, as well as disburse widow and old age pension to the beneficiaries. The civic body distributes nearly 3,000 sewing machines every year as part of a welfare scheme. But the corporation has so far failed to purchase the consignment this year. Also, it has not disbursed pension to the elderly for the last six months. The Corporation pays Rs 1,500 per month to the senior citizens and the widows.

"The sewing machines have not been distributed this year. The tender process is on to procure machines. The old age pension too is pending for the last six months," a senior North civic body official said.

This gave the opposition Congress ammunition to attack the ruling BJP in the three municipal corporations in Delhi.

Councillor says the refrigerators are being given in wake of wedding season. Leader of Opposition in North Delhi Municipal Corporation, Mukesh Goel slammed the BJP accusing it of 'buying voters' ahead of elections.

"It is an apparent attempt to influence voters when the elections are impending. For the last seven years, the BJP has not cared for the poor but now its leaders are resorting to unethical means," Goel claimed. The Congress leader alleged that the BJP was not serious about the needs of the poor and instead was indulging in gimmicks to divert attention from the core issues. Gupta, however, rebutted the charges levelled by the opposition leaders. He claimed that it was a 'help' extended to the needful families. "There was no selfish motive involved. Some poor families had sought help for wedding in their families," Gupta told MAIL TODAY. He said his focus was carrying forward the cleanliness drive in the area and that he did not indulge in any 'unethical' acts.

New constituency

Gupta, a first time councillor, was elected the deputy mayor in May this year. Though Gupta represents Karol Bagh ward in Municipal Corporation, he is seeking to contest the Assembly election from Sadar Bazaar as Karol Bagh is a reserved constituency. The BJP had lost the Sadar Bazaar seat in 2013 to the Aam Aadmi Party by less than a thousand votes.