The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sharpened its criticism of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections, with the pollution of the Yamuna River emerging as a central issue in its campaign. Parvesh Verma, the BJP candidate from the New Delhi constituency, led a symbolic protest on Saturday by taking a boat ride on the heavily polluted Yamuna River, accompanied by party members. The protest was aimed at calling attention to Kejriwal's failure to meet the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) ambitious promise of cleaning the river by 2025.
During the demonstration, Verma carried a life-size cut-out of Kejriwal, which depicted the Delhi Chief Minister holding his ears with the slogan, “Main fail ho gaya, mujhe vote mat dena, 2025 tak main Yamuna saaf nai kar paya” (“I am a failure; don’t vote for me; I failed to clean the Yamuna by 2025”). The BJP’s use of this graphic protest was designed to underscore their belief that the AAP government has been unable to take meaningful steps to address the pollution that continues to plague the river. By presenting Kejriwal as a failure in this regard, the BJP is seeking to discredit the Delhi government's record on environmental issues and build momentum ahead of the elections.
Verma took the protest a step further by submerging the cut-out of Kejriwal in the river multiple times, symbolically washing his hands of responsibility in the ongoing crisis. Verma argued that the AAP government had been in power for long enough to have resolved the issue, yet pollution in the Yamuna persists despite repeated promises to clean it up. Verma’s statements on the matter were direct and pointed: “We can clean all the water of Yamuna Maaiya (Mother Yamuna). Cleaning it is not rocket science. All the silt should be removed by machines, sewerage treatment plants should be built, and water treatment plants should be constructed. Just like our Prime Minister Modi built the Sabarmati Riverfront, the Yamuna Riverfront can be developed in the same way. Eleven years is a very long time,” Verma said. His remarks imply that Kejriwal’s government had ample time to address this environmental issue, but failed to do so, suggesting that the problem was not insurmountable but rather neglected.
The Yamuna River, which flows through Delhi, has been the subject of concern for decades. The river remains one of the most polluted in the country, with untreated sewage, industrial effluents, and garbage contaminating the water. The issue has affected millions of residents in Delhi, making it a crucial matter for the city’s inhabitants. Despite promises made by several political parties, including Kejriwal’s AAP, to clean the river, tangible results have been scarce, fueling public frustration. By highlighting this issue, the BJP is attempting to present itself as the party best equipped to address the environmental challenges facing the capital.
As the Delhi Assembly elections draw closer, the BJP has made it clear that the issue of Yamuna pollution will be central to its electoral strategy. The elections, set for February 5, 2025, with results to be announced on February 8, have become a fiercely contested battle, and the Yamuna's cleanliness has turned into one of the key battleground issues. The BJP’s use of the river as a focal point is a response to Kejriwal’s unfulfilled 2025 deadline for cleaning the river, which has provided opposition parties with an opportunity to seize upon this unaddressed issue.
Earlier in the week, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also weighed in on the controversy. At a rally in Delhi, Adityanath criticized the AAP government for obstructing the city’s development over the past decade. He specifically targeted Kejriwal, accusing him of turning the Yamuna into a “dirty drain” under his watch. Adityanath pointed to his own government’s handling of religious and cultural affairs, highlighting his visit to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh, where he and his ministers took a dip in the holy Sangam. Adityanath then challenged Kejriwal to show the same commitment by taking a dip in the Yamuna, suggesting that the Delhi Chief Minister lacked the “moral courage” to do so.
In response to Adityanath’s remarks, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav defended Kejriwal, questioning whether the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister would be willing to drink the water from the Yamuna in Mathura, which also suffers from severe pollution. Yadav’s comments were intended to point out the hypocrisy of targeting Kejriwal when the Yamuna’s condition is similarly dire in other regions.
The issue of Yamuna pollution has also drawn criticism from Congress. Alka Lamba, the Congress candidate contesting from the Kalkaji Assembly seat in Delhi, accused both the BJP and AAP of politicizing the river’s condition. Lamba argued that if Congress were given the chance to govern, they would focus on practical solutions to clean the Yamuna rather than engaging in political finger-pointing. Her comments suggest that Congress intends to take a more pragmatic approach to the river's rehabilitation, with a focus on results rather than rhetoric.
As the election date approaches, the battle over the Yamuna’s pollution has become one of the defining issues of the Delhi Assembly election. Each party is positioning itself as the one with the most credible solutions to the longstanding environmental problem, and the fate of the Yamuna may very well determine how voters view the future of Delhi’s governance. In this context, the parties are competing not only for votes but also for the public’s trust in their ability to resolve one of the city’s most pressing and visible problems. Whether Kejriwal’s promises to clean the river by 2025 can be fulfilled in time, or whether the BJP’s claims of AAP’s failure gain traction with voters, will shape the outcome of the election and the future of the Yamuna River.
