New Delhi:
The election bugle has sounded in Delhi. This time Congress seems to be very active in the Delhi Assembly elections, hence the contest seems to be triangular. Although, in the last two elections, Congress was nowhere to be seen in the race, but this time if it gets the support of Muslim voters, then Congress can come back in the game. Out of 70 constituencies of Delhi, there are 7 seats where Muslim voters play a decisive role. These seats are- Matia Mahal, Babarpur, Seelampur, Okhla, Mustafabad, Chandni Chowk and Ballimaran. Can Congress play on the Muslim dominated seats of Delhi?
Can Congress play on the Muslim dominated seats of Delhi?
In the 2020 assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party had easily won all the seats of Mustafabad, Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal, Babarpur, Seelampur, Okhla and Ballimaran. It did not seem whether anyone was standing in front of the Aam Aadmi Party or not. At the same time, the condition of Congress Party was such that it stood third on all these seats. Aam Aadmi Party had registered a landslide victory on 62 out of 70 seats in these elections and its voting percentage was 53.57%. At the same time, BJP got 38.51% votes and Congress got only 4.26% votes. But this time Congress is trying to enter the race again. But the question arises whether Muslim voters will go with Congress? Experts keeping an eye on Delhi elections say that this time there is a great possibility that the Muslim voters of Delhi will consider Congress. Behind this is the changed strategy of Aam Aadmi Party.
Delhi riots and AAP’s inclination towards Hindutva…
The leaders of Aam Aadmi Party also realize that this time there is a chance of losing Muslim voters from their hands. Some AAP leaders say in hushed voices that this time there is some confusion regarding the Muslim community. However, he is confident that this time too he will win all the seven seats, though not by a huge margin. In fact, Muslims have not yet forgotten the Delhi riots that took place in 2020, when the Aam Aadmi Party became a ‘mute spectator’ and did not say anything in favor of Muslim voters. At the same time, some inclination of Aam Aadmi Party towards Hindutva can also spoil the game and Congress Party can directly benefit.
Mustafabad Owaisi also fielded candidate
In 2015, when the Aam Aadmi Party won Delhi with 67 out of 70 seats, Mustafabad was one of the three constituencies that went to the BJP. Its candidate Jagdish Pradhan won the seat with almost 40% Muslim voters, mainly due to the split of anti-BJP votes between AAP’s Haji Yunus (30.13% vote share) and Congress’ Hasan Ahmed (31.68%). But in 2020, after minorities united behind Haji Yunus, AAP won in Mustafabad, giving it 53.2% votes. Jagdish Pradhan came second with 42.06%, while Congress’s Ali Mehdi got only 2.89% votes. However, this time Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM has fielded its candidate on this seat, due to which the competition has become tough. From Mustafabad, the party has fielded former AAP councilor Tahir Hussain, who is one of the accused in the Delhi riots case and has also spent some time in jail in connection with it. Congress has again fielded Mehdi and AAP has given ticket to new candidate Adil Ahmed Khan.
Babarpur assembly seat
The population of Muslims in Babarpur assembly constituency is about 45 percent. Here, Aam Aadmi Party has again given ticket to Minister Gopal Rai, while Congress has fielded former AAP MLA Mohammad Ishraq from Seelampur. Gopal Rai had won Babarpur five years ago with 59.39% vote share, while BJP’s Naresh Gaur came second with 36.23% votes. Congress’s Anviksha Jain stood third with 3.59%.
Okhla seat is the stronghold of Amanatullah Khan.
Okhla Assembly seat, which is seen as the stronghold of AAP’s Amanatullah Khan, has about 55% of the population from the minority community. Shaheen Bagh is a part of this assembly constituency, where Muslims had protested. In 2020, Amanatullah had registered the biggest victory from this seat by securing 66.03% votes, while BJP’s Brahm Singh stood second with 29.65% vote share. Congress’s Parvez Hashmi stood third with 2.59% votes.
60% Muslims on Matia Mahal seat
Matia Mahal seat in Central Delhi always remains in discussion. Jama Masjid comes under this constituency. The number of Muslim voters here is 60%. In 2020, AAP’s Shoaib Iqbal won Matia Mahal by getting 75.96% votes. BJP’s Ravinder Gupta stood second with 19.24% vote share and Congress’s Mirza Javed Ali stood third with 3.85%.
AAP confident on Seelampur assembly seat
Seelampur seat is also a Muslim dominated seat, where most of the population belongs to minorities. In the year 2020, Mohammad Ishraq of Aam Aadmi Party had won the election from this assembly seat by securing 56.05 percent votes. Kushal Mishra of BJP was in second place with 27.58% votes and Matin Ahmed of Congress was in third place, who got 15.61% votes.
Will Congress play on Chandni Chowk seat?
Chandni Chowk seat was once considered a stronghold of Congress. But now Aam Aadmi Party has dominance here. AAP’s Prahlad Singh Sahni got 50,891 votes in the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections. He had registered a landslide victory with 65.92 percent vote share. BJP’s Suman Kumar Gupta was in second place with 24.8 percent votes and Congress’s Alka Lamba was in third place, who was once in the Aam Aadmi Party. Aam Aadmi Party has again fielded Prahlad Singh Sahni. Whereas, Congress has given ticket to Mudit Aggarwal. BJP has not yet fielded its candidate from here.
Congress stakes on Ballimaran assembly seat
There was a time when Congress had absolute rule over Balmaran seat. The victory of Harun Yusuf, who was a minister in the Congress party, was considered certain from here, but the scene here has changed since the last two times. Aam Aadmi Party’s Imran Hussain won this seat in 2015 and 2020 and this time too AAP has expressed confidence in him. Congress has once again gambled on Harun Yusuf. BJP has not fielded any candidate from here yet.
