Kirari Assembly constituency in North-West Delhi entered the record books in the 2013 Assembly elections as BJP candidate Anil Jha emerged victorious with the biggest margin across the 70 Assembly segments.
Interestingly, the Assembly seat, which is home to scores of unauthorised colonies inhabited by migrants from Poorvanchal, is witnessing a tight contest with the three main political parties fielding candidates originally belonging to Poorvanchal.
While former BJP MLA Anil Jha is seeking a third term from the constituency, the Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Ritu Raj. The Congress has fielded Pratyush Kant, a former journalist.
While Mr. Jha won the last Assembly elections with a record margin of 50,000 votes, tide seems to have turned against him if the voting trend during the Lok Sabha polls last year is considered. Just six months after the 2013 Assembly polls, AAP candidate in the Lok Sabha poll registered a handsome lead in the segment – one of the ten across the city where it registered a lead.
This altered equation has made the current AAP candidate Ritu Raj confident of his win this time.
“Basic facilities like access to clean water, electricity and roads are not available to people in Kirari. Apart from this, the crime rate is also very high. There are many things in the area that need to be changed and people have realised that the BJP is not going to change things for them; it is the AAP which will bring about the changes,” Ritu Raj told The Hindu .
“For the past six months, our volunteers have been doing a lot of work for the people here and this has made them believe in us,” he added.
One of the major factors that could be an important determinant in the poll results is the voting pattern of the Muslim voters, who make around 30 per cent of the electorate.
Kirari is one of the biggest Assembly seats in Delhi. The main issues include basic amenities in the unauthorised colonies and the high rate of crime. Illegal activities like gambling, selling of spurious liquor and betting are a regular feature in the area.
