New Delhi: Vishnu Mittal, the general secretary of the Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), criticized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the nation’s capital on Thursday for failing to improve the slums’ living conditions. He also said that the slum dwellers have chosen to support the BJP because of the AAP’s lack of basic amenities and subpar living conditions.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will speak to the ‘pradhans’ (leaders) of Delhi’s slums on January 11 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, according to Vishnu Mittal, the BJP’s organizer for the ‘Jhuggi Abhiyan’ (Slum Campaign).

In an interview with ANI on Thursday, Mittal listed a number of problems that slum dwellers suffer and said that the Delhi government, which is governed by the AAP, is ignoring their demands.

“We summoned the ‘pradhans’ from Delhi’s slums to the JLN stadium on January 11. Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, will attend the function and speak with them directly, Mittal said. The BJP anticipates that at least 3,000 slum leaders would be there, he said.

Mittal continued by listing the problems that Delhi’s slum dwellers confront, including a scarcity of potable water, excessive energy costs, heaps of uncollected trash, and wandering animals close to mohalla clinics.

“There is no respite from the exorbitant electrical costs, and everyone is compelled to purchase bottled water for drinking. The streets are piled high with trash, and you may even see animals wandering about the Mohalla clinics. He said that unemployment is at an all-time high and that many are unable to even have their ration cards produced.

Mittal claims that these issues have caused the residents of Delhi’s slums to turn to the BJP for support. “On the one hand, the BJP is constructing new apartments for Delhi residents. Arvind Kejriwal, on the other hand, is occupied with constructing a “sheesh mahal” for himself while utterly disregarding the suffering of the populace,” Mittal said.

As Delhi prepares for the next election, it is anticipated that the BJP will increase its outreach to slum leaders with an emphasis on housing and essential amenities.

As part of an effort to interact with slum voters before the Delhi Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to meet with leaders of Delhi’s slum clusters on January 11.

Shah will meet with the leaders of about 3,000 slum colonies in the city for the first time. On Saturday, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host the gathering.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has started a unique campaign to engage slum voters ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. In order to establish direct communication with the people living in slum regions, BJP officials, including MPs and MLAs, have begun spending the night there. “Where There’s a Slum, There’s a House” is the slogan of the party’s campaign, which the central government is promoting.

A number of Delhi BJP officials have been visiting slum residents in recent months to learn about their problems. In an effort to get to know the locals and understand their issues, roughly two dozen BJP officials have started staying one night a week in these impoverished neighborhoods.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened 1,675 slum-dweller apartments in Delhi’s Ashok Vihar last week. Of the approximately 675 slum clusters in Delhi, 18–20% are found in the parliamentary seats in the east and northeast.

In the last two Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has received resounding support from these regions. In the next elections, the BJP is working hard to win over these votes. Better housing and infrastructure are the main goals of the BJP’s slum development effort.

The 2025 Delhi Assembly elections will be held on February 5 and the results will be tallied on February 8. On January 7, the Election Commission made the dates public. On February 23, the 70-member Delhi Assembly’s current term will come to an end.