The wild, wild west of Delhi!

Punjabi Bagh in Delhi is quite Punjabi by nature As is a whole lot of Delhi of course Which looks annoyingly deada day before the elections that I visit it Whats with the sannatta on a Saturday though Can think of only one reason stepping into Moti Mahal indisputably the citys best dal makhani butter chicken place Its 315 pm and not a soul has walked into a threefloor restaurant and some only start streaming in after for lunchIts a dryday and what good is a Punjabi meal without some pregamingdrinking to go with it which must be held at home So I miss out on eavesdropping on tables around since one knows for sure that all that Delhi talks about is politics mdash especially before the day they go to vote And I really want to know what they have to sayIs it any different in Rajouri Gardens main market that otherwise as locals suggest you would have no space to move your elbows but is quiet like a morgue on a weekend Election hai ji is what the shopkeepers indicate for their loss of business For its a fact what nobody steps out for two days before they go to vote and the day itself when all the markets malls are shut because this is that part of India that takes its democratic rather a bit too seriouslyAlso unlike the rest of India nobody has as much skin in the game as a rentier economy for a national capital that thrives on its access to power It matters who sits on the top throne since they decide who benefits most from it And they all live in and around Lutyens Delhi weaving stories that a whole country must buy in order to place who they like at the CentreBut no Im least interested in the seven Lok Sabha constituencies of the national capital apart from the wild wild West Delhi Whys that Chiefly because over every election since 1977 the good folk of Punjabi Bagh Rajouri Garden etc have voted for the party that eventually wins the general election The only other constituency with this level of statistical precision is Vasad in the stonecold sober GujaratHow does one explain this coincidence You cant Except perhaps mildly guess that Delhi more often than not has a better chance of predicting a national mood because it is also the immigrant capital One look at those who comprise West Delhieasily gauged from the candidates standing from this constituencymdashand youll know that the entire North India that decides the polls resides hereThe guy contesting from the Congress is a Purvanchali essentially aiming to line up lakhs of UPites behind him The other two contenders from Aam Aadmi Party and BJP are Jats usually identified with the neighbouring Haryana Neither plays up the caste card because Delhi doesnt strictly adhere to identitybased politics Its too deracinatedurban for that although in terms of influence wholly dominated by Sikhs and PunjabisThis suits personality politics and creative storytelling far more And so I ask the guys running Subhash frankierolljoint in Punjabi Bagh which way the wind is blowing This is pollster euphemism for who are you voting for I get the word mahaul wrong call it mausam instead The guy at the counter jumps at me Acche din sir Ab toh baarish bhi acche lekar aayenge mausam badal denge duniya badal denge The biting sarcasm is top intellectual gradeBut not everybody makes a joke about something as serious as elections in these parts They simply signal what appears to be the politically correct thing to say BJP Unless you probe deeper like I do with the 420friendly Sardar boy with exquisite taste in hiphop running a smoothieshake cafeacute in Rajouri Its threeway boss threeway lag raha hai he saysReminds me of the wit I met in the chaishop in Kishanganj Bihar during the third phase of polling He said Follow a simple rule If its a city theyll say BJP If its a village theyll say Congress Either way if youre asking in public why should they reveal something so privateCouldnt agree more Sure West Delhi always votes for the eventual victor forming the national government But nobody said they also tell you beforehand who thats going to be Happy to wait Or rather like everyone else equally fatigued happy to get this over with SeriouslyMayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture He tweets mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates