Rajnath joins campaign: ‘Congress did no work, brought AAP-da to Delhi’

BJP president JP Nadda and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also held rallies in the city

Defence minister Rajnath Singh sounded the poll bugle at the Delhi Cantonment assembly seat, joining Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) election campaign for the first time on Thursday. Singh said that the biggest strength of any political party is its trustworthiness, and the BJP is the only party in the country that fulfils every promise it makes.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh at a rally in Sadar Bazar in Delhi Cantonment on Thursday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Singh said that if voted to power, the BJP will ensure that the Ayushmaan Bharat benefits are rolled out within 10 days, allotment of over 35,000 vacant in-situ rehabilitation flats are started within three months, sealed shops are reopened within six months and the Yamuna will be cleaned up in the next five years.

Supporting Delhi cantt candidate Buvan Tanwar and Om Prakash Sharma from Vishwas Nagar, Singh said that BJP accepted the lack of trust among people as a challenge and fulfilled all its promises in 2014 and 2019 that led to its victory again in 2024.

“I was the BJP chief in 2014 and was responsible for drafting the manifesto. Modi ji told me to include only those things in the manifesto that we can truly deliver and we did. He then asked me to head the manifesto committee again in 2019 with the same instruction. I can say with confidence that you can check both manifestos and if we did not fulfil a single promise, do not vote for us,” said Singh.

He added that the people kept the AAP in power for 11 years and Congress for 15 years, but no development has happened in the last 26 years.

“Both parties have not worked for Delhi and have only been harping on the development that the Centre ensures in Delhi. Delhi was also declared a state (NCT) during the BJP regime,” said Singh.

He criticised the Congress for working so little in Delhi that people voted for the AAP instead.

“It is the Congress that brought AAP-da or disaster to Delhi. They did not work in Delhi and people voted them out. They have also not got a single vote in the last two elections since they lost. It is their record that once Congress goes out power in any state, people do not vote for them again,” he said.

He also slammed the AAP for blaming Haryana for the toxins in the Yamuna.

“He stood with Anna Hazare against corruption and gained the trust of Delhi’s people, but he even cheated Anna and went back on everything he ever said. He does not let the welfare schemes of the Centre like Ayushman Bharat and PM Awas trickle to the people of Delhi,” said Singh.

He added that the BJP provided drinking water connections in deserts, mountains and forests but it was shocking that AAP could not provide water to the national capital. He also slammed the party over broken roads, waterlogging during monsoon and insulting BR Ambedkar.

Meanwhile, BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda addressed a public meeting in Krishna Nagar on Thursday and attacked AAP for promoting anti-national agenda and disrespecting women.

“They claimed to have installed panic buttons on the buses. However, it turned out to be a scam of ₹500 crore. Have you seen a panic button on the buses? Panic button was required in the Sheesh Mahal where women are disrespected and misbehaved with,” said Nadda.

He added that Delhi needs a double-engine BJP government to ensure smooth roads, clean water, better healthcare, efficient waste management and a cleaner city.

In Mustafabad, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that this election is about mainstreaming development in Delhi and ridding it of the “AAP-da” (disaster) that it has been enduring.