NEW DELHI: Bulldozers flattened their homes within minutes on Tuesday but the cold has been slowly grinding residents of Israeli Camp on Rangpuri Pahari near Vasant Kunj for two nights. And while aid has been slow to come, politicians and vote bank politics have besieged the camp with an eye on the upcoming polls.If Aam Aadmi Party blamed BJP ex-MLA Sat Prakash Rana for the untimely demolition, Congress’ national vice-president Rahul Gandhi paid the helpless residents a visit on Thursday evening. Rahul came without material relief but promised to fight for their rights and made the dramatic announcement that, next time, the bulldozers will have to go over him first. Neither Rana nor any other BJP representative has visited the camp.Rahul reached the camp around 7.30pm when after a day spent reorganizing their lives the residents were trying to cook and get some sleep under plastic sheets in silence. The 30-minute visit led to a near-stampede. Congress workers said it was a stocktaking visit, but it seemed more like a pre-poll show. Congress heavyweights like former MP Sajjan Kumar and former MLA Vijay Lochav had been warming the stage for Rahul’s visit since 6pm. Rahul arrived accompanied by more senior figures, including AICC general secretary Shakeel Ahmad and Kuljeet Singh Nagra, state president Arvinder Singh, former Congress Legislature Party leader Haroon Yusuf, and many others.“Congress will fight for the rights of the poor. The poor are being thrown out of their houses; whatever is happening here is wrong,” he told reporters after freeing himself from the crowd that tugged and pulled at him. In the chaos, policemen struggled to secure Rahul and even he tripped and stepped into a drain. Due to the darkness, he had to return from the periphery of the demolished settlement. Some of the residents chanted slogans in support of Congress and against BJP.AAP’s Col Devinder Sehrawat had visited the camp early on Wednesday morning and later, AAP workers had brought some relief material.