Once known as the constituency of the rich and famous, South Delhi has lost its elite touch post-delimitation. Many of the posh colonies have been shifted to the New Delhi lok Sabha constituency, while South Delhi now has a majority of voters from villages and slums, bringing caste politics into play as never before.
Affluent colonies like Greater Kailash, Hauz Khas and RK Puram were separated out of it as a consequence of delimitation in 2008 and the South Delhi constituency was converted into a conglomerate of villages; mostly carved out from the erstwhile Outer Delhi constituency that was represented by Congress veteran Sajjan Kumar
Now a motley of villages, this BJP bastion is now a Cong bulwark
From being a posh constituency to a conglomerate of villages and from being a BJP bastion to a Congress stronghold, the South Delhi Parliamentary constituency has undergone a complete transformation. Delimitation of constituencies in 2008 led to posh areas like Greater Kailash, Hauz Khas and RK Puram giving way to a host of unauthorised colonies and villages dominated by migrants, Jats and the Gujjars. Not only did the constituency lose its urban sheen, but also saffron clusters of Moti Nagar, Hari Nagar and Janakpuri were separated from it to form parts of the West Delhi Parliamentary constituency. On the other hand, nearly 90 per cent of the areas of the erstwhile Outer Delhi constituency merged with the South Delhi constituency with voters bearing impression of Jat leader Sajjan Kumar on their minds and hearts.
Prior to delimitation, the South Delhi seat remained a tough nut to crack for the Congress. Till 2009, despite performing decently in the Assembly polls, the Congress failed to wrest the seat since 1985 when Congress’ Arjun Singh had won the by-elections. The reasons for this parliamentary constituency becoming a stronghold of the BJP are not far to seek. The predominantly Punjabi population, mostly first and second generation post-Partition refugees, sided with the BJP ever since. longstanding Parliamentarian and BJP veteran Vijay Kumar Malhotra retained the seat for the most part of this phase.
With nearly 15 lakh voters, the South Delhi Parliamentary constituency comprises the Assembly segments of Bijwasan, Palam, Mehrauli, Chhatarpur, Deoli, Ambedkar Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Kalkaji, Tughlakabad and Badarpur. With a large rural base, the constituency has a dominant OBC population of around 31.5 per cent. The Scheduled Castes, Gujjars, Jats and Yadavs too play a significant role in this part of the city. It is for this reason that the BJP has fielded Pravesh Verma, a Jat leader and son of former Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, from Mehrauli — a Jat dominated constituency. He is fielded against Congress’ Yoganand Shastri, the current Speaker of the Delhi Assembly. On the other hand, BJP’s Gujjar face Ramesh Bidhuri has been pitched from his stronghold of Tughlakabad. In Kalkaji, the Congress has reposed faith in former DPCC president and four-term MlA Subhash Chopra.
Once known as the constituency of the rich and the famous, South Delhi has lost its elite touch post-delimitation. Many of the posh colonies have been shifted to the New Delhi lok Sabha constituency, while South Delhi now has a majority of voters from villages and slums, bringing caste politics into play as never before. In the 2008 Assembly polls, the issue of inflation hit the Congress here. The slums and unauthorised colonies pitched for the BSP and inflicted losses to the Congress in Bijwasan, Palam, Sangam Vihar and Tughlakabad that went to the kitty of the BJP. The Congress could win just five seats — Mehrauli, Chhatarpur, Deoli (reserved), Ambedkar Nagar and Kalkaji. The BSP too marked its presence in Badarpur. Denied ticket, Congress’ Ram Singh Netaji won on the BSP ticket defeating Congress’ Ramvir Singh Bidhuri by a fair margin.
However, given the caste equations and existence of unauthorised colonies, cracking this belt will be a tough challenge for the BJP as the dominant OBC, Gujjars, Jats and Yadavs are considered traditional vote banks of the Congress. However, the BJP would hope for finishing better this time with Ramvir Singh Bidhuri coming to the party fold and its Gujjar face Ramesh Bidhuri too maintaining its hold on the community. Of the 42 villages in the constituency, 18 are dominated by Jats, 12 by Gujjars and five by the Yadavs.
While Gujjars are predominantly present in Chhatarpur, Badarpur and Tughlakabad, Jats also have a sizeable presence in the villages bordering West Delhi. The South Delhi constituency has 31.5 per cent of OBC population, 18.5 per cent of SC, 9.39 per cent Brahmins, 9.04 per cent Gujjars, 6 per cent Muslims, 5.29 per cent Punjabis, 5 per cent Jats, 4.40 per cent Banias, 3.6 per cent mixed-class and 2.33 per cent Yadavs. As a single region entity, the Poorvanchalis account for nearly 15 per cent of the votes.
Shortage of water and electricity remain the perennial issues in the entire region with the BJP set to take advantage raking up the two issues in addition to poor condition of roads in majority of rural areas. Unavailability of Government hospitals and colleges too draw the ire of the voters in this constituency. As voters rued, the successive Governments in Delhi have failed to provide people with proper medical and health facilities. “If someone falls sick here, they have go to Safdarjung Hospital, which is about two hours from the villages of Palam and Mahipalpur,” they chorused.