BJP Plans to Take "Sheesh Mahal" Replicas to All Delhi Constituencies
The Indian Express reported that BJP has ordered 14 "replicas" of the 6, Flag Staff Road bungalow that is in the limelight for the extravagant renovations done by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, when he was Chief Minister of Delhi.
The BJP has dubbed the CM's residence "Sheesh Mahal" (Glass Palace) and claims that the total cost of renovations is around ₹80 crore.
BJP plans to procure up to 70 replicas to be installed in every constituency of Delhi. According to The Indian Express each model costs between ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh each. The models show the three-storeyed structure in all its purported luxury, together with human figurines. The prices of models are likely to go down since there is a template now.
One model is placed at the Delhi BJP's Pandit Pant Marg office, which is accessible to the general public. The model is enclosed in glass and placed on a 6x4 ft table. The public is allowed to click selfies with the model. It is titled, ‘Sheesh Mahal – Kejriwal’s Museum of Corruption’.
“Earlier, we placed a WagonR model, the car Kejriwal used to travel in. But then we removed it because the so-called aam aadmi does not travel by that car anymore. As per people earlier with the AAP who have visited the house, Kejriwal only has luxury cars now… So, we placed toy luxury cars.” - Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva
BJP denied sharing the name of the architect who built the model, revealing only that he is Harayana-based. As for the accuracy of the model, the party leaders said they talked to people who switched over from the AAP camp to the BJP and those who have visited the bungalow. BJP developed the first model when Kejriwal was in jail over the excise policy case.
Sachdeva expressed confidence that the "Sheesh Mahal" models will be a hit among the public. The party is waiting to get approval from the Election Commission to display the models. "Once the approval comes, the campaign will be launched in a day or two,” he added.