Delhi Election: Delhi voters have rated the performance of Arvind Kejriwal government below average on all three parameters.

Lok Sabha Election: Delhi voters are not swayed by the narratives of nationalism, Balakot bombings and Rafale deal, but worried more about issues affecting their daily lives. Traffic snarls, polluted air and water, and jobs will be on top of their minds when they queue up to vote on May 12, according to a survey conducted by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms.

According to half of the total 3,500 respondents, covering all 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, traffic congestion was the biggest issue for them, followed by water and air pollution (44.52%) and better employment opportunities (43.07%).

However, despite overwhelming majority in Delhi assembly, the performance of Aam Admi Party government in Delhi in solving each of these three issues has been rated below average by majority of the respondents.

Respondents have assigned 2.27 marks on a scale of 5 to Arvind Kejriwal government’s performance in solving the problem of traffic congestion in Delhi.

Delhi has highest number of personal four-wheelers in the country, according to reports, more four wheelers are sold in Delhi than the cumulative number of four-wheelers sold in three other metros – Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Rapid expansion of Metro network and construction of flyovers and elevated roads have failed to cope up with growing number of vehicles in Delhi.

Similarly, respondents have given almost the same mark, 2.29 on a scale of 5, to Kejriwal government for solving problems related to water and air pollution.

According to a study conducted by World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1600 cities, Delhi had the worst air quality among the major cities.

According to a study conducted by the ministry of earth sciences, vehicular emission was responsible for 41% of PM 2.5 air pollution followed by dust 21.5% and industrial activity 18%.

In order to control high vehicular pollution, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had resorted to restrict movement of personal vehicles in the national capital. AAP government introduced a system that is known as odd-even as it restricted movement of the vehicles on alternate days depending on the last digit of their number plates. However, the odd-even scheme was in force only for a brief period in 2016 and 2017 before it was eventually withdrawn as the research suggested that it had failed to curb the air pollution.

The performance of Arvind Kejriwal government in creating better employment opportunities in the union territory has also been rated as below average by majority of the respondents which is the third most important issue for Delhi voters.