Kejriwal Faces Hindutva Test in Delhi’s Muslim Dominated Seats
Delhi CM Atishi Image credit X.com @Atishi
Owaisi & BSP Sniff Spoiler Air Against AAP in Delhi Elections
By Amit Kumar
New Delhi, January 11: Mohammed Suleman in the Okhla Assembly constituency in Delhi is miffed with former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Suleman, a timber trader, points to a long gutter to state his weariness against politics of freebies.
“Arvind Kejriwal has over stretched his politics of freebies. He is making it too evident that he seeks to entice voters with freebie schemes,” Suleman told The Raisina Hills.
He also rued “this is extremely unfortunate. The government should create employment and not give cash handouts.” The timber trader, however, didn’t spell out his voting preference in the Delhi Assembly elections.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting the fourth elections in Delhi. The AAP has been in power in the national capital since 2013. The wholesome support of the Muslim vote base is considered the cornerstone of the electoral success of the AAP in the national capital.
Political observers claim that there are about 14 per cent Muslim voters in Delhi. The minority vote base is known to have significant influence in seven Assembly seats.
“In Delhi, there are about 15 assembly seats where Muslim voters have a very special influence. The Mustafabad Assembly seat is an example for the consolidation of the minority vote base in favour of the AAP,” said senior political analyst Manish Anand.
He stated that while Jagdish Pradhan of the Bharatiya Janata Party won the 2015 Assembly elections from Mustafabad, the AAP wrested the constituency in 2020 by taking away almost 25 per cent votes polled by the Congress in the previous polls.
Anand also asserted that the marginalisation of the Congress in Delhi politics had been more evident in the Muslim dominated constituencies. “The Congress polled less than five per cent votes in six of the seven heavily Muslim dominated seats. But the Congress and the AIMIM now threaten to play the spoiler for the AAP,” added Anand.
Faizan Ahmed in Mustafabad said that the entry of the AIMIM is a curious factor in the Delhi elections. “The Asaduddin Owaisi-headed party has now acquired a status of cutting into the anti-BJP vote base. His party damaged the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Muslim vote base in Delhi may also see split,” added Ahmed, a shopkeeper.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is also likely to field a large number of Muslim candidates. Besides, the Congress is making a spirited attempt to regain the old touch among the Muslim electorate in the national capital.
In the 2020 Assembly elections in Delhi, the Congress performances were abysmal. In Mustafabad, Ali Mehndi of the Congress got 2.89 per cent votes. In Chandni Chowk, Alka Lamba who was the Congress candidate got five per cent votes. In Matia Mahal, Mirza Javed Ali, who was the Congress candidate, got 3.85 per cent votes.
In Babarpur, Avnishka Jain, who was the Congress candidate, got 3.59 per cent vote share. In Seelampur,. Chaudhary Matim Ahmed polled 15.5 per cent votes. In Okhla, Parvez Hashmi polled 2.5 per cent votes. In Ballimaran, Haroon Yusuf, who was Sheila Dikshit’s minister, polled just 4.73 per cent vote share.
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