How the West Delhi will be won? AAP’s hunt on

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party’s hunt for a suitable candidate to contest from the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat hasn’t yielded any concrete result so far. This constituency has a sizeable population of Jat and Sikh voters. While the party has two strong contenders for the seat — Uttam Nagar MLA Naresh Balyan and transport minister and Najafgarh MLA Kailash Gahlot — it hasn’t been able to take a final call.The reason is it may result in discontent as demand for a ticket by many MLAs was rejected on the ground that the party has decided not to field any sitting MLA in the Lok Sabha polls.
Names of seven in-charges for seven LS seats of Delhi were announced in October last year. While all other candidates started working immediately, Rajpal Solanki, in-charge of West Delhi, resigned within four days due to health issues. All the six in-charges have been engaged in a ground level campaign since October last year in their respective seats. They were recently designated as candidates for New Delhi, Chandni Chowk, East, North East, North West and South parliamentary constituencies.
The West seat has a large number of Poorvanchalis. It is divided into 10 assembly segments — Madipur, Rajouri Garden, Hari Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Janakpuri, Vikaspuri, Uttam Nagar, Dwarka, Matiala and Najafgarh. Though BJP won in this constituency — largest among the seven LS seats — getting 6.5 lakh votes, AAP is in a strong position here because nine of the 10 assembly segments are represented by it. The seat has a significant number of rural and urbanised villages, unauthorised regularised and unauthorised colonies besides several upscale colonies like Rajouri Garden, Tagore Garden, Dwarka, Janakpuri, etc.
The party has been discussing with MLAs how it should go about finding a candidate. A unanimous suggestion has been that a Jat candidate would be most suitable, keeping in view the demography of the constituency where Vikaspuri, Najafgarh and Matiala are most Jat-dominated seats. BJP’s sitting MP, Parvesh Sahib Singh, is also from Jat community. AAP is hopeful that the combination of unauthorised colonies, JJ clusters and Jat votes can make it the winner.
AAP is reportedly in touch with three local BJP leaders and three local Congress leaders. There are rumours that AAP has contacted former BJP MLA, Dharm Dev Solanki, who is from the Jat community, and a former Congress MLA for becoming AAP’s candidate. “It is a baseless rumour being spread by vested interests. I have not been contacted by AAP leaders,” said Solanki. The former Congress MP from West Delhi, Mahabal Mishra, has also rejected rumours of the possibility of him contesting on an AAP ticket. “It is a totally baseless rumour. I am a Congress worker and will remain a Congress worker,” Mishra recently told TOI.
AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai said they will soon finalise a candidate. The delay has also led to speculations that AAP has kept this seat vacant so that it can be offered to Congress when, if at all, an alliance is forged between the two parties. With polling to be held in the Capital on May 12, there is enough time.
Neither BJP, nor Congress has announced its candidates. While Congress is yet to scrutinise the list of probable candidates, BJP is yet to decide whether it will repeat its seven sitting MPs or field new faces. AAP claims it has an edge over BJP and Congress because it is months ahead of the two in starting preparations at the ground level.