In a rather surprising move which could give the rival AAP a major gain in the February 7 Assembly polls, the BJP has fielded only two Purvanchali candidates who will represent over 35 lakh voters belonging to the community.
The AAP, on the other hand, will have 11 candidates who hail from the Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar belt. More importantly, there is only one Muslim candidate from the party. Besides, where only five per cent of the population is that of Jats, the BJP has fielded as many as nine candidates from the caste. Similarly, to represent the Gujjar community who constitute only four per cent of the voters, there are eight nominees.
In the 2013 Assembly elections the BJP had fielded five Purvanchali candidates. It’s no less than a puzzle to understand the party’s logic of fielding just two Purvanchalis at a time when it had done extensive surveys to create a dent in nearly 20 of these seats, which became AAP bastions since the previous polls. All other candidates except Anil Jha had then lost to the fledgling AAP.
Apart from two-time sitting MlA Anil Jha, the BJP has nominated only one Purvanchali candidate — Gopal Jha from Burari Assembly constituency. The AAP, on the other hand, has fielded Purvanchali candidates in Burari, Badli, Kirari, Shalimar Bagh, Model Town, Vikaspuri, Malviya Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Rohtas Nagar, Ghonda and Karawal Nagar constituencies.
In a move which would raise many eyebrows, the party has fielded only one Muslim candidate (Anjuman Dahalwai from Matia Mahal) for a population of nearly 12 per cent of the community. The city has nearly 17 per cent of Dalit voters and the BJP has fielded 13 Dalit candidates. The equitable distribution makes sense here as the party had lost almost all reserved seats to the AAP in the last Assembly polls. Punjabi and Sikh candidates have secured 1o BJP tickets in Delhi as they account for over 10 per cent of Delhi’s population.