New Delhi: It may not be easy for Aam Aadmi Party with its “pro-people and “anti-corruption” slogans to woo voters in Delhi who often weigh caste and party loyalties before casting their ballots.
Caste could be a decisive factor in around 20 constituencies in outer and rural Delhi as residents in these areas often prefer candidates from their community rather than being influenced by other factors.
Of the 364 villages in Delhi, around 225 are dominated by Jat community while in 70 villages, Gujjars have majority. The Yadavs have majority in 35 villages.
The Jat community can be a deciding factor in at least eight constituencies including Mehrauli, Mundka, Rithala, Nangloi, Matiala, Najafgarh and Bijwasan.
The community comprises 10 per cent of the total voters while the Gujjars constitute 7 per cent votes. The percentage of SC community is 17 per cent, Muslims comprise 12 per cent and Punjabis 9 per cent. The Sikh community has a total vote share of four per cent while the Vaish community has 8 per cent vote share.
The support of Gujjar community will be crucial in Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Sangam Vihar, Gonda, Gokulpuri, Karawal Nagar and Okhla. From slums of East Delhi to posh Lutyen’s Bungalow zone, caste factor may be a significant factor and BJP and Congress are likely to benefit most as these two parties have fielded maximum candidates considering the caste equation.
Kotla Mubarkpur, a Gurjjar-dominated ward under Kasturba Nagar Constituency (AC no 42) in south Delhi has issues, akin to many semi-urban areas in Delhi, like waterlogging and drainage, and garbage disposal, among others, but caste seems to “weigh more on people’s mind than the ballot itself”.
Apart from caste allegiance, party loyalty too is also likely to be a strong factor in deciding the fate of the candidates as AAP will find it hard to wean the loyal voters away from Congress or BJP, notwithstanding its agenda to “change the system”.
AAP is contesting the elections on the plank of giving corruption free government, reducing power tariff by 50 per cent and providing free 700 litres potable water daily to each household.
So, for traders like 62-year-old Ramesh Chandra, resident of south Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur who owns a cloth shop, loyalty to Congress is “too strong to stray away from”. “I have been a supporter of Congress and I will not shift my loyalty,” he said.
“We are supportive of AAP’s agenda. But I do not think it will be able to form a government. So I may not vote for AAP,” said Jagjit Singh, a resident of Mundka.
After three consecutive victories, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit believes the party’s track record will itself “motivate voters”.
But, Opposition BJP, which swept all three corporations seats in the city’s municipal election last year, calls the victories “as reflection of people’s changing mood” and as “precursor to the big change ahead”.
BJP is also making civic issues like drainage and waterlogging a major poll plank trying to put the Dikshit-led government on the backfoot. (PTI)