Unlike the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which saw a triangular fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Congress, the upcoming polls are expected to be closely contested in the national capital as the saffron party faces a united opposition – the INDIA bloc – this time.
AAP will contest four seats, while Congress will contest three as per the seat sharing arrangement between the two parties.
ALSO READ- ‘Treated like terrorists’: Bhagwant Mann after meeting Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail
Battle for 2024: A closer look at contestants
1. North East Delhi: This constituency grabbed the maximum attention after the Congress announced Kanhaiya Kumar as its candidate. The former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president will be facing two-time MP Manoj Tiwari. The seat is dominated by voters from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Tiwari defeated former chief minister Sheila Dikshit.
2. Chandni Chowk: This high-profile seat comprises ten assembly segments. Chandni Chowk is currently being represented by BJP’s Harsh Vardhan, who has already announced his retirement from politics. The saffron party has fielded Praveen Khandelwal from this seat. The Congress has fielded Jai Parkash Agarwal, who had won from Chandni Chowk in 1984 and 1989. He had previously served as an MP from North East Delhi in 2009.
3. North West Delhi: This constituency was created in 2008 following delimitation. Reserved for scheduled castes, North West Delhi is currently represented by singer Hans Raj Hans. This time, the BJP has fielded former North MCD mayor Yogendra Chandolia in the poll contest. He will be contesting against Congress candidate Udit Raj, who had won in 2014 on a BJP ticket.
4. New Delhi seat: The New Delhi constituency comprises 10 assembly seats including New Delhi from where jailed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is an MLA. Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi won this seat twice in 2014 and 2019, defeating AAP’s Ashish Khetan and Cong’s Ajay Maken respectively. However, this time the BJP has fielded Bansuri Swaraj who will be facing AAP’s three-time MLA Somnath Bharti.
5. East Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Harsh Malhotra, former mayor of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, as its candidate for this seat. The BJP changed its candidate after incumbent MP Gautam Gambhir opted out of the poll race. Malhotra will be squaring off against AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar.
6. South Delhi: This constituency witnessed a triangular contest between BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri, Congress candidate Vijender Singh and AAP’s Raghav Chadha. The saffron camp decided to drop Bidhuri, also known for his controversial remark, and fielded the Leader of opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri. The BJP leader will be facing AAP’s Sahi Ram Pehelwan, an MLA from the Tuglakabad constituency.
7. West Delhi: The BJP dropped its two-time MP Pravesh Verma and decided to field former south Delhi mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat from this seat. Sehrawat will be facing Aam Aadmi Party’s Mahabal Mishra, who had won in 2009 as a Congress candidate.
ALSO READ- AAP pushes for a common min programme with Congress
Lok Sabha elections in Delhi
Delhi will go to the polls in the sixth phase on May 25, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4th. Approximately 1.47 crore eligible voters, which includes around 80 lakh male and 67 lakh female electors, are expected to exercise their franchise in the national capital to elect their MPs.
Of the seven seats, New Delhi is the smallest constituency with 14.8 lakh voters, while West Delhi is the largest with 24.9 lakh electors.
ALSO READ- Opposition bloc rally in Delhi a carnival of corrupt: BJP
Lok Sabha 2019 results for Delhi
BJP currently holds all seven Lok Sabha seats and 8 of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly, where AAP has 62 seats.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP secured 56.6 per cent of the votes overall, while AAP received 18.11 per cent and the Congress 22.51 per cent. In each seat, the BJP garnered more than 50 per cent of the vote share.
