Congress bastion — the historical Chandni Chowk lok Sabha seat — appeared to be on a sticky wicket as the voting trends indicated the BJP's upper hand.
The Congress had won seven out of 10 Assembly seats in 2008, but this time around the situation looks different with the BJP making inroads into its citadel and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) adding to its agony. Results in other areas like Model Town, Timarpur, Wazirpur, Tri Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Ballimaran, Sadar Bazaar as well as Chandni Chowk may surprise the political pundits.
Voting patterns in Muslim-dominated Chandni Chowk and Ballimaran indicated Muslims pitching for local candidates who are available to them. Imran Hussain, the sitting councillor contesting on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket, is giving a tough fight to Haroon Yusuf, a Minister in Sheila Dikshit Cabinet, in his Ballimaran Assembly seat.
Farhana Anjum of the AAP too, has considerable support among her community. Same was with Prahlad Singh Sahni, three-time Congress MlA from Chandni Chowk, where Janta Dal-United (JD-U)'s Khurram Iqbal, nephew of Matia Mahal MlA Shoaib Iqbal, appeared to be a favourite with the Muslims. Mausam Ali of the BSP too is in fray and his presence is hurting the Congress. BJP's Suman Kumar Gupta may get the benefit as the division of Muslim votes may tilt the balance in his favour.
Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk and Sadar Bazar, the three Muslim-dominated seats of the Walled city, three won by the Congress are locked in tough fights. Matia Mahal is the only exception where Shoaib Iqbal the sitting lok Janshakti Party MlA MlA appears to be invincible as his opponents such as Mirza Javed Ali of the Congress, Mohammad Nizamuddin of the BJP and AAP's Shakeel Anjum Dehlvi pose no challenge to his citadel.
The voting trends were quite perceptible as the day progressed. Initially, the turnout was low but later, Muslim voters thronged the polling booths with visible long queues everywhere. Mohammad Shakir, a resident of Imam Sahab Ki Gali, said that Iqbal has been working all along and is available for one and all. His good works are getting transferred to his nephew Khurram Iqbal who is contesting on a JD-U ticket from Chandni Chowk. Prahlad Singh Sahni, the three-time Congress MlA, hardly visits the Walled City areas as he is busy with Majnu Ka Tila. Mausal Ali of the BSP got support from some Muslim pockets. This signalled an edge for BJP's Suman Gupta who may benefit from the division of the Muslim votes.
Ballimaran is another seat in the Walled City where Haroon Yusuf, the sitting Congress MlA, appeared vulnerable against the onslaught of BSP's Imran Huassain, Moti lal Sodhi of the BJP and Farhana Anjum of the AAP. Voters in Gali Qasim Jaan rooted for Imran Hussain, who has been working tirelessly for them. Yusuf's supporters were outnumbered. Polling in Rabia Girls School in the area was brisk and those coming to cast their votes rooted for Imran, in areas such as Farashkhana, Frahana Anjum held the sway while Moti lal Sodhi garnered the votes of Scheduled Castes and tribes.
Rajesh Jai, the three-time Congress MlA from Sadar Bazar pulled up all the resources at his command to counter the challenge posed by BJP's Jai Prakash and AAP's Somdutt Sharma. A round of the polling centers indicated a three cornered fight with the AAP eating into a major chunk of the Congress's traditional vote bank. The picture was still unclear with the scale hanging in the balance for the sitting MlA.