Mahabal goes pani pani

West Delhi residents drown Congress candidate Mahabal Mishra in their water woes

Mahabal goes pani pani

West Delhi residents drown Congress candidate Mahabal Mishra in their water woes

It was a perfect scene for a Bollywood potboiler on Indian elections.

A neta stood with folded hands trying to silence an agitated crowd that was not interested in his pacifiers. Abuses flew and the neta had no option but to politely duck the barbs.

As the angry mass jostled and pushed, almost crowding in on the leader, his party supporters went around requesting people to stay calm. Water, or rather the lack of it, had started the fire.

On Sunday, as Mahabal Mishra, the Congress candidate from West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, campaigned at Mansha Park, the water woes of the area hit him like a water canon, causing much embarrassment to the local leaders.

Local MLA Somesh Shokeen, who had accompanied Mishra on the campaign, had to ultimately promise the agitated residents supply through water tankers for immediate relief.

Though Mishra defended himself, blaming BJP MLA Dharamdev Solanki instead, the residents were not ready to listen to any excuse.

"We get water once in 15 days and we have heard enough of their (politicians') false promises. He (Mishra) says it was the fault of the BJP MLA but what is the guarantee that he would solve this problem once in power?" asked an angry woman at the rally.

"The area has been under Dharamdev Solanki for the last 10 years and he has not done anything to develop it. Erratic water supply is a major problem and we are determined to solve it. Half of the civil work to supply water to the remotest of areas is already over," said Mishra.u00a0

And even as the crowd hurled abuses, Mishra seemed unperturbed. Maybe because he had been facing similar situations elsewhere too. He had faced the water cannons at Matiyala as well.

"Shomesh Shokeen, the current MLA, did not get time to fulfill his plans as the election's code of conduct was issued. But our plans will end water woes in the area. We won't return until water is available twice a day to all residents," promised Mishra.

But before that, Mishra had to take to the podium to pacify the angry crowd. His party men could be seen pleading with every person with folded hands.

"Saalo se sun rahe hain ki paani aayega, aaj tak har koi isi baat par vote le gaya hai lekin hame kuch nahi mila (We have been hearing such promises for years. Every one collected votes promising water but we have got nothing)," said an old lady, when Mishra personally tried to calm her down with folded hands.

Tracking Mishra
Mahabal Mishra, who was awarded a Sena Medal during the 1971 war, is an avid blogger and a cricket fan. "He has a personal website with an option of live cricket update. But he is missing the IPL due to his public commitments. He is an avid blogger and keeps himself updated with national and international issues," said the leader's personal secretary Nunu Mishra.