The electoral battle on the Babarpur Assembly constituency is being seen as a battle of prestige for the ruling AAP with its state convener Gopal Rai fighting from the seat, who would be vying to secure a third term from there.
The BJP has fielded Naresh Gaur and the Congress has named Anveeksha Jain as its candidates from this seat.
On the counting day, which will be held on February 8, this seat will be closely watched for the ruling party after the New Delhi seat from where AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is contesting and Jangpura seat which is being contested by former Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia.
Babarpur is geographically surrounded by Yamuna Vihar to the north, Maujpur to the west, Seelampur to the south, and Chajjupur to the east. Located in the northern Shahdara region of Delhi, it is well-connected by the main 100-feet road in Ashok Nagar. Additionally, the constituency lies close to the Ghaziabad-Loni border.
The constituency, which falls under the North-east parliamentary constituency, is a home to rural and urban sections, including Balbir Nagar, Chhajjupur, Ghonda Extn, Harijan Basti, Indira Niketan, Janta Mazdoor Colony, Kabir Nagar, Kardam Puri, Maujpur, New Jafrabad, North Ghonda and Yamuna Vihar.
It was once a stronghold of BJP with the party winning the seat four of the five times between 1993 and 2013. However, with the AAP entering electoral politics, things took a turn.
Even though Rai could not win in 2013, when the party bagged 28 seats and formed a government for 49 days with help from the Congress, he was elected the MLA from the seat in 2015 and 2020. Rai, who came third in 2013 with just 22.37 percent votes, became the MLA from the seat when he bagged 59.14 per cent votes in 2015. Gaur had won from the seat in the 2013 and 2008 polls.
In 2015, the seat had a total 1,92,358 electors out of which the total number of valid votes was 1,28,822. AAP candidate Gopal Rai won, securing a total of 76,179 votes while BJP’s Naresh Gaur stood second with a total 40,908 votes. He lost by 35,271 votes.
In 2020, Rai won again from the seat which had total 2,17,243 electors out of which total number of valid votes was 1,42,736. Rai again defeated BJP’s Gaur by a margin of 33,062 votes. While Rai secured a total of 84,776 votes, Gaur stood second with a total 51,714 votes.
In 2025 too, AAP’s Rai is again in a direct contest with Gaur. According to the Election Commission, the seat has a total 2,16,473 voters comprising 1,14,617 males, 1,01,841 females and 15 third genders.
The seat sees a considerable presence of Muslims and Pandits which compromise 35 per cent and 19 per cent of the area respectively. Moreover, the seat also has 17 per cent Other Backward Castes (OBC), 8 per cent Vaishyas, 7 per cent Gujjars, 6 per cent Scheduled Castes (SC), 5 per cent Rajputs and 3 per cent Jats.
Babarpur is home to several manufacturing units, including some operating illegally in its industrial areas. The locality faces significant sanitation challenges, with open drains filled with stagnant garbage being a recurring problem for residents.
To address this, the government recently initiated a sewage management project in the area.
Additionally, last year saw the launch of two mohalla clinics and the installation of CCTV cameras for improved public health and security. In June of the same year, a Delhi court charged 12 individuals with rioting, unlawful assembly, murder, destruction of evidence, mischief, dacoity, and conspiracy in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Babarpur, where seven people lost their lives.