While the BJP, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are stealing the maximum limelight in the Delhi Assembly polls, the Bihar-based JD(U) appears to spring surprises by winning at least two seats in the Capital.
JD(U)'s Shoaib Danish may snatch the Okhla seat from Congress' Asif Mohammad Khan who had won the seat in 2008 by raking up the infamous Batla House encounter which occurred the same year. Khan, who had earlier blamed the Congress for the encounter to win over the minority votes, deserted the RJD to switch to the former.
Hence, the voters of the constituency are disgruntled with him and they had thrown their weight behind Danish, a JD (U) candidate. Danish, the sitting councillor from Okhla, has made development his plank as he has also succeeded in polarising minority votes in his favour despite 11 other Muslim candidates flexing their muscles. The Muslims account for 60 per cent of the total votes in Okhla where 18 candidates are in the poll fray.
Similarly in Matia Mahal, it is set to be an easy sailing for seating MlA Shoaib Iqbal. For want of a strong opponent from the BJP and the Congress, the sitting MlA is in most likelihood going to retain his seat.
The three-time MlA from the constituency, Iqbal was till recently a member of Ramvilas Pawan's lok Jan Shakti Party, but had quit the party to join JD(U) ahead of the polls.
Apart from being politically sound, Iqbal also enjoys good command over the community. A former Deputy Speaker of Delhi Assembly, he was recently in news for illegally raising a structure near Jama Masjid in Old Delhi which was purportedly the site of Mughal era Akbarabadi Mosque. Iqbal is pitched against three other Muslim candidates namely, Congress' Mirza Javed Ali, BJP's Mohammad Nizamuddin and AAP's Shakeel Anjum.