In a bid to regain ground in the coming Assembly polls, the Congress has meticulously chalked out the electoral battle by fielding the candidates of dominant caste groups in the national Capital.
Brahmins, Jats and Gujjars have been scripting their political dominance for the past several decades in the city. Therefore, the Congress leadership has fielded nine candidates from Jat and Gujjar community for this Assembly election. Jats and Gujjars have five and four percentile each population here. likewise, Brahmins also form a sizeable chunk of voters, comprising around ten per cent of total population and therefore the party has fielded 10 Brahmin candidates.
In Delhi, SC/ST/Dalits constitute around over 17 per cent of the total population and 13 Dalit candidates have been given party ticket. Majority of Dalits have voted for the Aam Aadmi Party in the 2013 Assembly polls and the Congress is currently facing a challenge to gain its lost Dalit bastion. To woo Dalit/SC/ST voters, the party has fielded five Valmiki, five Jatavs, three Sikhs, three Yadavs, two Dalit Rajputs and two Khatiks. Punjabis, whose population is 10 per cent in Delhi, have been given seven tickets. Seven Punjabi candidates are also in the election fray.
Similarly, Muslims are around 12 per cent and they have secured six tickets. In fact, all six sitting Congress legislators have been fielded again by the Congress this time.
Punjabi and Sikh candidates have secured 11 Congress tickets in Delhi. For several decades, Punjabis are dominating the political scenario in Delhi. Purvanchali population is substantially high in Delhi, but the Congress has fielded only two candidates from Purvanchal. Mahabal Mishra from Dwarka and Pratyush Kanth from Kirari are two candidates from Purvanchal in the Assembly poll fray. Strangely, the total population of Purvanchalis is over 35 lakh in Delhi but only two candidates have been fielded from Purvanchal.
Political experts say that the Congress has tried a balancing act this time while announcing candidates for the assembly polls in Delhi. It has tried to accommodate all local community in its list.