New Delhi, Apr 11 (PTI) A political battle has erupted in Janakpuri, the home constituency of Delhi’s Power Minister Ashish Sood, with the AAP on Friday launching a sharp attack on the BJP government, alleging worsening electricity situation, while the saffron party hit back, calling the charges a “false political narrative”.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Atishi visited Mahavir Enclave in Janakpuri to meet residents affected by daily, prolonged outages. She said the power cuts, happening even before peak summer, highlight the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s failure to provide basic services.

“This is not some remote corner of Delhi — this is the constituency of the power minister himself. If this is the condition here, what must be happening in the rest of the city?” Atishi asked. She said sick people, elderly residents and children are bearing the brunt of these outages.

Locals complained of power cuts for several hours a day without prior notice. “We regret voting for the BJP. Life without electricity in this heat is unbearable. (Former Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal was a better choice,” said one resident. Another said, “The era of inverters and hand fans is back. We did not face this even 10 years ago.” Elderly women told Atishi that uninterrupted electricity supply was once a norm, but that has changed since the BJP came to power. A heart patient told Atishi that it feels like being punished surviving long power cuts in this heat.

Responding to the allegations, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of spreading misinformation through social media.

“Kejriwal, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi are deliberately trying to mislead the public and tarnish the BJP’s image. They have failed to gain traction on issues like the Women’s Prosperity Scheme and school-fee hikes, so now they are using power cuts for political mileage,” he said.

Sachdeva maintained that the BJP is committed to improving infrastructure and accused the AAP of using “propaganda” to cover up its administrative failures when it was in power in the national capital. PTI MHS RC