AAP vs BJP In Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal's ‘Slum’ Dare To Amit Shah

Delhi Elections 2025: The political showdown between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) escalated on Sunday when AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of planning to demolish Delhi's slums over the next five years, leaving slum dwellers homeless. 

Kejriwal's criticism targeted the BJP’s "Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makaan" scheme, suggesting that the party's intentions were to win the votes of slum dwellers during elections and later seize their land.  

Addressing reporters at a slum camp, Kejriwal said, “The BJP wants your vote first and your land after the elections.” 

He alleged that the party had no genuine interest in addressing the housing needs of slum dwellers and instead aimed to take over the land occupied by them.  

“We have seen how their leaders are going to slums and staying there. They didn’t stay for five or ten years, but their leaders have stayed in the slums for the last month. They do not have affection for the slum dwellers. It is a party of rich people. What do they have to do with the slum dwellers?” Kejriwal remarked.  

The Delhi CM also claimed that the BJP viewed slum dwellers as “insects,” exploiting their votes during elections and planning to take their land afterward. “They need the votes of slum dwellers ahead of the polling and the land of the slum dwellers after the polling,” Kejriwal alleged, adding, "They love their land and have love for their votes."  

Kejriwal further dared Union Home Minister Amit Shah that he will not contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi if Shah withdraws all cases related to Delhi slum demolitions and rehabilitates every evicted person.

"Withdraw all the cases you have filed against the people of slums, and submit an affidavit in court that you will give houses to all those people on the same land from which they were evicted. I will not contest the elections. I challenge you to accept it. Otherwise, Kejriwal will not go anywhere," the former Delhi chief minister said today

Kejriwal’s Sharp Aim At HM Amit Shah 

Kejriwal also took aim at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing him of lying to slum dwellers in a speech on Saturday. 

Shah had promised that the BJP would build homes for slum residents, but Kejriwal countered, saying, "The BJP people are not telling whose 'makaan'... They mean 'Jaha jhuggi, waha inke dost ke makaan.'" 

In his criticism of the BJP-led central government, Kejriwal pointed out that despite being in power for 11 years, the BJP had built only 4,700 houses for slum dwellers in Delhi. 

"There are 4 lakh jhuggis in Delhi. If 4,700 houses have been built in the last 10 years, it will take 1,000 years to provide houses to every slum dweller," he said.

The war of words comes ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, which are set to take place on February 5, with the counting of votes scheduled for February 8.