Journey has just begun...

NEW DELHI: As he starts from his house at 5 Tughlaq Lane, BJP candidate from Outer Delhi constituency Sahib Singh Verma knows he has a long day ahead.
Running a good one-and-a-half hours behind schedule, he tries to make up. "Gaadi kheencho. Ab area mein pahunch kar hi rokna (Drive fast and stop the car only once you reach the venue)," he instructs his driver.
That done, he turns to his son-in-law Sandeep Singh who hands him his breakfast.Though up and about at 4.30 am, this is his first meal of the day.
Forget food, Verma catches his forty winks in his air conditioned Tata Safari jeep. Not that he is complaining. He knows that to reach out to 37 lakh voters in the huge constituency he might as well put comfort on hold.
Back in the jeep, Sandeep reaches out to give him head support. His assistant props a cushion. The roads are bad and they wouldn''t want him to get a crick in his neck. Not now.
"Development is the key issue here. People are fighting for regularisation. The roads are bad. There is severe water crisis and people are unhappy over long power cuts. To top it all, you have house tax," he alleges. Put aside his stint as the labour minister, four years is a long time to be out of power in this city.
In less than twenty minutes, he reaches the first stop — Tehkhand village where he gets a warm welcome. At chaupal, he wastes no time in exhorting the people not to pay any house tax till they get basic facilities. He "reminds" them of his contributions, the mini Master Plan that he had devised and was shelved by the Congress government.
At Molarband extension too the issue remains the same. There is no mention of his opponent, Sajjan Kumar, not till he reaches Jaitpur village which has a sizeable Sikh population. "Will you vote for a killer?" he asks them without mincing words.
One of the resident takes over the mike and responds by throwing the question of poor development on his face. The man is drunk and Sahib Singh apologises on his behalf. "Criticism is good, but you must be sober to put forward your side," he says.