Kiran Walia confident of Congress's good show, flays BJP and AAP, calls Krishna Tirath opportunistic

New Delhi: With voting date for Delhi Assembly elections approaching, political leaders are getting more aggressive in targeting their rivals.

Senior Congress leader and New Delhi candidate Kiran Walia took on both the Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday, calling the former an outfit which had sidelined its loyal workers in favour of new faces while the latter, according to her, had betrayed the people after the 2013 elections.

Walia, a former Delhi University Assistant Professor, claimed that new faces like Kiran Befi, Krishna Tirath, Shazia Ilmiand Vinod Kumar Binny had resulted in a rift within the BJP and many party workers were sidelined and denied ticket for Delhi polls.

"It shows BJP doesn't have candidates and lack of leaders," said Walia on BJP's decision to declare former IPS officer Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate.

Hitting out at AAP leader and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, she said, "People feel dejected and betrayed with the 49-day stint of the Kejriwal government. Kejriwal became over ambitious and he went to Varanasi to contest Lok Sabha polls and after losing it, he came back. Now, people want a stable and honest government."

AAP with 28 seats formed the government in December 2013 with the outside of Congress but Kejriwal resigned as chief minister in 49 days and Delhi came under President's Rule.

In the last polls, Kejriwal defeated three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit with a huge margin from New Delhi. "Most of Delhi was swept by Kejriwal's false promises and so was this seat. But people have now realised their plan," says Walia.

"Aam aadmi has become khaas aadmi now and are not bothered about anyone. Such politics of deceit shouldn't be allowed to flourish," Walia adds.

Walia, a close confidant of Sheila Dikshit and a minister in her cabinet, is contesting against Kejriwal and BJP's Nupur Sharma, a former Delhi University Students Union president.

Riding high on the Narendra Modi wave, Nupur is giving a tough fight to Kejriwal but to Walia she does not matter. She is confident of her party putting up a good show.

Walia minced no words in flaying her former colleague Krishna Tirath calling her an "opportunist". Just days before the Delhi Assembly elections Tirath, a former union minister, left the Congress to join the BJP and will be contesting from Patel Nagar constituency.

"Krishna Tirath is playing the politics of opportunism," says Walia while campaigning in Sarojini Nagar market and claimed that Congress is on a comeback with college students, teachers, residents and party workers actively campaigning for her.

For Walia, who started the women's coach in Delhi Metro, women security still remains the main issue in this elections.