Here’s why: 7 out of South Delhi Lok Sabha seat’s 10 Assembly constituencies do not get piped water supplied by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). These are Palam, Bijwasan, Chhatarpur, Mehrauli, Deoli, Sangam Vihar and Tughlaqabad. Result: water from private tankers comes dear for the residents here.

And with water woes having set in with the summer even in upscale colonies, many expect water supply to be the poll flashpoint here. Most areas in South Delhi constituency survive on water tankers, an issue that candidates have utilised in past, too, by bartering water tankers for votes. Ramesh Bidhuri, the BJP candidate, has in fact already stepped on the accelerator to go vocal against the Congress.

“There is an acute water shortage in the area for past several years and Sajjan Kumar, who has represented the seat for three terms, has not done anything to ensure regular water supply,” he says. “In fact, he has never raised the issue in Parliament.”

Bidhuri says though Sajjan is out of the race, “nothing is going to change even with his bother, Ramesh Kumar, entering the fray”.

Ramesh Kumar, who has just kicked off his campaign, is silent on the issue. Instead, he plays the “development” card. “We have got the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant and pipelines are being laid here,” he says. “I have been working for development of the area along with Sajjan Kumar since 1977, and our main poll issue will be development.”

Bidhuri, meanwhile, takes credit for the upcoming underground reservoir being built at Mehrauli and Sangam Vihar. “I have raised this issue constantly in Assembly,” he says.