The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from North East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, Manoj Tiwari, said that election in his area is between two ideologies—those chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" for unity of the country and others espousing division and who are tagged as "tukde-tukde" ideology.
Tiwari, who is seeking a third consecutive victory in the North East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, is pitted against Kanhaiya Kumar, fielded by Congress, in the upcoming elections.
Campaigning for Tiwari, Union Minister Giriraj Singh pointed out that he had defeated Kanhaiya Kumar in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Bihar's Begusarai constituency. He said that Kumar had switched sides, adding that, “A person’s poster has been pasted in Begusarai who is a member of the tukde-tukde gang and is missing there. He has changed the party now."
Kumar, who fought Singh in 2019 on CPI ticket, joined the Congress subsequently.
Kumar's chequered political past, particularly the sedition case against him for allegedly raising "anti-India slogans" in the 2016 Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) incident, was revisited.
Addressing an election rally, Tiwari said that the current election is about ideology and not a personal fight.“This election is not between Manoj Tiwari and the candidate of the other party. This is between those who say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and those of the ‘tukde-tukde’ gang.” Addressing a poll meeting Giriraj Singh referred to the violence in Jahangirpuri on Hanuman Jayanti a few years ago and said, “When people say that we talk about Hindu-Muslim issues, I want to ask, has Manoj Tiwari ever set fire to anywhere in Jahangirpuri? No, he hasn’t.” “If you want to criticize, then criticize me. But put your hand on your heart and ask, what is the solution to this? The solution is that we come together and use the power of voting against the terrorist mentality and ensure the victory of Sanatan culture,” he said.
Further, there was discussion on broader national issues, too, like the 2020 communal riots in North East Delhi in the backdrop of anti-CAA protests, against which Singh assured that he would fight every effort of destabilizing the nation.
He drew a parallel, underlining how unexpected and yet successful the decisions have been under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, be it the abrogation of Article 370 or the construction of the Ram temple. He looked assured that under the continued leadership of Modi, India would scale to global preeminence.
