New Delhi:
The picture of assembly elections in Delhi is now clear. In such a situation, discussion has started about which party will dominate the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes in Delhi this time. For the last two times, Aam Aadmi Party has been winning on all the reserved seats. In the 70-seat Delhi Assembly, 12 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Caste category. If we talk about votes, then about 17 percent of the total voters of Delhi belong to the Scheduled Caste category.
Before delimitation, the number of reserved seats in Delhi was 13. Till 2008, Congress was the champion in Dalit politics in Delhi. But after the arrival of Aam Aadmi Party in 2013, everything changed. In that election, AAP made a major reshuffle by winning nine out of 12 seats. In the two elections held thereafter, AAP had won all the 12 seats reserved for SCs.
Mathematics of Dalit castes in Delhi
If we talk about Scheduled Caste voters in Delhi, their population in Delhi is about 17 percent. Of these, 38 percent are Jatav and 21 percent are Valmiki. In this election, BJP has deviated from the norm and has fielded Scheduled Caste candidates on two general seats. Whereas Congress has fielded a Scheduled Caste candidate on a general seat. But you have failed to do this. BJP has made Deepti Indora its candidate from Matia Mahal and Kamal Bagdi from Bally Maran, while Congress has given ticket to Aruna Kumari from Narela. It is also noteworthy here that BJP is contesting only 68 out of 70 seats in Delhi. He has left two seats for JDU and LJP (Ram Vilas). Whereas in Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party, which has won all the reserved seats in the last two elections, has fielded Scheduled Caste candidates only on reserved seats.
Who’s performance on seats reserved for SC?
If we talk about the last three elections, in the 2013 elections in Delhi, out of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, AAP had won nine, BJP won two and Congress won one. AAP had won all the seats in the 2015 and 2020 elections. If we talk about the votes and seats won by political parties on 20 Dalit dominated seats in the 2020 assembly elections, then AAP won 19 of these and secured 55.7 percent votes. Whereas BJP got only one seat and 36.7 percent votes. Congress did not get any seat, but it managed to get four percent of the votes. Others got 3.6 percent votes.
Congress leader Udit Raj and other leaders holding a press conference for Delhi Assembly elections.
Which party got the votes of which caste?
According to the survey of CSDS Lokniti, 72 percent of Jatav caste voters voted for AAP in the 2020 assembly elections. Whereas BJP got 22 percent and Congress got 3 percent Jatav votes. AAP got 65 percent votes of Valmiki caste, BJP got 29 percent and Congress got 4 percent. Among the other scheduled castes, AAP got 66 percent votes, BJP got 27 percent and Congress got five percent votes.
BJP’s best performance on reserved seats in Delhi was in the 1993 elections. It had got eight seats in that election.
This time, elections are being held in one phase for the 70-member Delhi Assembly. For this, a total of 699 candidates are trying their luck in the election field. Voting will be held in Delhi on February 5. Counting of votes will take place on February 8.
Also read: Delhi Elections 2025: These parties are ahead in giving tickets to Dalits on general seats, this is the condition of AAP
