The BJP is drawing voters' attention to the Delhi chief minister’s newly renovated residence to drive home its allegation of the incongruence between AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's “aam aadmi” image and the lavish lifestyle he appears to have led while at the helm of the government.

With memes, videos and campaigns targeting Kejriwal’s alleged extravagance, the BJP has made it the central theme of its narrative against the AAP for the upcoming Assembly polls.

Despite anti-incumbency and the AAP government’s allegedly erratic delivery of civic services, the BJP and the Congress's campaign overdrive surrounding the “sheesh mahal” allegations don't seem to have cut ice with voters, especially those who back Kejriwal.

In Bihar Camp, a low-income settlement of those who work at the Delhi Race Club opposite the Prime Minister’s residence in Kejriwal’s New Delhi seat, elderly resident Radha dismisses the allegations of corruption against the former chief minister.

“People can say lies too; who verifies allegations? I haven’t seen the residences of Kejriwal or the PM. What should matter is inflation. Has any party offered a solution for it? I am satisfied with Kejriwal because he has worked well and given some relief from inflation,” she said.

The residence at 6 Flagstaff Road became the centre of scrutiny after Kejriwal vacated it following his release from jail and resignation as chief minister last year. The BJP and the Congress have used it to accuse Kejriwal of corruption and hypocrisy, especially considering his image as a “man of the common people”.

However, voters like Radha are focused more on the tangible benefits they feel from AAP’s policies, such as addressing inflation, rather than the optics of a government official’s home.

“Which CM doesn’t have a good bungalow? Have you seen videos of the PM’s house?” asked Rajesh Kumar, a resident of south Delhi’s Sangam Vihar slum, which has more than 12 lakh residents spread over 9sqkm in two Assembly constituencies.

Kumar has seen a spoof on AAP’s YouTube channel on a “raj mahal” — the derisive term used by the AAP and the Congress to describe the Prime Minister’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg. He believes it is true, and says that if it is false, the Prime Minister should open his house to the press.

Kumar is a voter in Deoli who migrated from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli. “I am from a Congress stronghold. We got piped water there before Sangam Vihar did. During the 15 years of Sheila Dikshit’s rule, she got our votes for gradually regularising the slums. But we only got water supply after Kejriwal came.

“Today, anyone who gives education, healthcare and jobs will win. The BJP should focus on these instead of playing Hindus against Muslims and going after Kejriwal’s house.”

In Okhla, another slum on the banks of the Yamuna, M. Khalil is equally unperturbed by the “sheesh mahal” controversy.

“Who doesn’t join politics to make money?” he asks, acknowledging that while politicians may have personal illegal gains, they should still focus on serving the people. He lauds Kejriwal for his work, considering the challenges he has faced, such as his arrest and political harassment. “Kejriwal is working well for the poor. The BJP should focus on the states they rule before asking for our votes.”

While the AAP still enjoys strong support in some quarters, other political dynamics are also at play. In Okhla, Khalil says there is local sympathy for Shifa-ur-Rehman Khan, a candidate from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) who has been incarcerated along with JNU scholar Umar Khalid since 2020 in connection with the Delhi riots conspiracy case. Despite this, Khalil remains loyal to the AAP, believing that Kejriwal has made real progress for the slum residents.

“The BJP is also strong as our municipal councillor (AAP’s Praveen Kumar) defected to the party. I feel sad for Shifa-ur-Rehman but I am for the AAP. Kejriwal must be rewarded for working for the poor because no one bothers about slum-dwellers,” Khalil says.

Sajjan Singh, an old Sikh resident of the bustling retail hub of Lajpat Nagar, has seen the best and worst of Delhi politics. The worst time, he says, was the period during the 1984 riots, and the best has been during the tenures of both Dikshit and Kejriwal.

“The BJP is contesting more aggressively now, but this sheesh mahal issue makes no sense. As if the BJP leaders live like fakirs, as Modiji says he does. There is a saying, ‘Khai bhali ka mai (food is more love than one’s mother)’. With Kejriwal giving affordable electricity and water, I prefer him in power,” Singh says.

• Delhi votes on February 5