In Sandeep Dikshit's Delhi seat, the real fight is between AAP, BJP

On his way out of the district collector’s office, Sandeep Dikshit the two time sitting MP from East Delhi was hoisted onto his supporters shoulders. While on his way out of the premises, amid the slogans and through a reassuring speech to the media present outside the DC office, Dikshit was the picture of confidence. So much so in fact, that it prompted one of the people present to remark, “election ke bad yeh bhi governor ban jayega”(he will also become a governor of a state after the election). Clearly a jibe at how the former CM of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, who was made the governor of Kerala after her defeat in the Delhi assembly elections. This one man’s mocking statement could well be an indication of what may happen in this East Delhi seat, which the Congress has won in last two consecutive Lok Sabha elections. [caption id=“attachment_1448237” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Dikshit is the only seasoned politician competing this time around: AFP[/caption] In the recently concluded Delhi assembly election, the Aam Aadmi Party won five of the assembly seats that come under this East Delhi, Lok Sabha constituency, making it a formidable base for them. However while the BJP bagged just three assembly seats, the accumulated number of votes for the BJP across the ten assembly constituencies that make up this Lok Sabha seat, is more than AAP’s. In the Assembly polls, BJP bagged a total of 3,62,013 votes whereas AAP had got 3,15,262 votes, while Congress won 2 seats, which included Okhla, a Muslim dominated constituency. In the East Delhi constituency, though, a lot of equations have changed post the elections. One of AAPs local forces, Vinod Kumar Binny, who won the Lakshmi Nagar seat defeating former congress minister AK Walia by a huge margin has left the party. On the other hand, Okhla, a Muslim majority constituency which was won by the Congress, seems to be leaning towards the AAP.  In fact, AAP leader Yogendra Yadav had told _Firstpost_  prior to the assembly elections, that even though the party managed to woo a section of the Muslims, the party was still not the first choice of the Muslims as they still preferred Congress. Recent events however show that even among the Muslims of Okhla the Aam Aadmi Party is gaining popularity. “For two back to back elections we voted for a for a candidate who gave us false hopes that the Batla House encounter issue will be taken up but after the election no one really heard him speaking of that,” said Khalid Qureshi, a resident of Batla House,  the infamous site of an encounter between alleged terrorists and the Delhi Police. The AAP candidate from East Delhi, Raj Mohan Gandhi has played his cards carefully, which will give the party a leverage in this Muslim dominated pocket. In a recent interview Gandhi has taken on Narendra Modi, which might strike a chord withe the minority voters of Okhla. Gandhi, however, says his main agenda is development. “The constituency is in need for a number of developmental work.  “In a large era there is no water connection. The roads are non existent. Sewage, parking everything is falling apart,” said Gandhi. Despite AAP wining a large part of this constituency however, the figures show that rival BJP had won a greater number of votes, even though it won fewer seats. The BJP claims it will sweep East Delhi this time. “Last time we had very less time,” says Harsh Vardhan, the president of the Delhi BJP, who was the CM candidate in the last election. “I could not travel to even half of the constituencies, and that reflects in the result,” he said to Firstpost. Harsh Vardhan himself has been elected an MLA from Krishna Nagar, a part of the East Delhi constituency and his win accounts for a large number of votes in the BJP’s favour. A popular leader, Harsh Vardhan should be able to turn a few thousand votes around for the BJP’s East Delhi candidate Pravesh Verma, say observers. Verma, the son of former Delhi CM Saheb Singh Verma, a sitting MLA from Mehrauli, stands a chance as “the Modi wave will work in his favour”, says the Delhi BJP. As of now, in the East Delhi constituency, other than Dikshit, no other major candidate is a hardened politician.  For its part, AAP is aware that the battle for East Delhi won’t be easy. “Definitely we are not complacent but it’s going to be very tough in Delhi and we have no intention of taking it lightly,” said Yogendra Yadav when asked if the choice of the Delhi candidates, including Gandhi shows that AAP is taking Delhi lightly. From the Congress perspective, Dikshit’s citadel now looks shakier than ever. Despite his insistence that the anti incumbency wave is over and that the “Modi wave is a creation of media”, if sources are to be believed, the East Delhi election is already a lost battle. “He (Dikshit) has already telling his supporters that they should eye the 2019 election from now only,” said a source in the Congress party, who also said that after the election, in all likelihood, Dikshit could be moved to UP to take charge of the UP Pradesh Congress Committee. “Party wants to use the Legacy of Uma Shankar Dikshit there (Dikshit’s grandfather)”, the source said.