As the Yamuna River comes to the fore in Delhi assembly election campaigns in 2025, the Bharatiya Janata Party struck a sharp and creative stroke against former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday.
BJP candidate from New Delhi constituency Parvesh Verma went for a boat ride on the Yamuna, complete with party colleagues and a life-size cut-out of Kejriwal. The cut-out showed Kejriwal holding his ear in shame, with the slogan: “Main fail ho gaya, mujhe vote mat dena, 2025 tak main Yamuna saaf nai kar paya” (I am a failure, don’t vote for me as I failed to clean the Yamuna by 2025). Verma kept submerging the cut-out in the river, creating a public spectacle for the media.
Watch here:
#WATCH | BJP candidate from the New Delhi assembly constituency, Parvesh Verma reaches Yamuna Ghat; takes a jibe at AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal over the issue of cleaning Yamuna River. pic.twitter.com/uAVHPwOpDx
— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2025
Speaking to reporters, Verma declared, “We can clean all the water of Yamuna Maaiya. Cleaning it is not rocket science. All the silt should be removed by machines, sewerage treatment plants should be built, and water treatment plants should be built. Just like our Prime Minister Modi Ji built the Sabarmati Riverfront, the Yamuna Riverfront can be built in the same way. 11 years is a very long time.”
Yamuna Pollution Becomes a Hot Election Topic
The long-standing issue of Yamuna River pollution has taken center stage in Delhi’s political landscape, becoming a rallying point for voters frustrated with health risks and environmental concerns. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, has faced criticism for failing to deliver on its promise to clean the river by 2025. Opposition parties, including the BJP, have capitalized on this frustration.
The political war of words got a respite, though briefly, when the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav came out in Kejriwal’s defense after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took up the AAP leader over Yamuna pollution. Yadav, taking a jibe at Adityanath, questioned whether he would dare drink water from the Yamuna in Mathura.
The issue was also commented on by the Congress, with Kalkaji Assembly candidate Alka Lamba saying that both BJP and AAP had reduced Yamuna pollution to a mere political issue. She said, “Rivers Yamuna and Ganga are nothing more than election issues for them.If people give us a chance, we will show our work (Yamuna cleaning), we will not blame the people of Purvanchal for the condition of Yamuna like Arvind Kejriwal did.
Delhi Assembly Elections 2025
Delhi will vote in a single phase on February 5, and the counting of votes will take place on February 8. A total of 699 candidates are in the fray for the 70 assembly seats, with Yamuna River pollution emerging as a pivotal campaign issue.
