New Delhi: Efforts are on by the respective parties to woo different sections before the voting for the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025. Arvind Kejriwal, the convener of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, had recently spoken out for the first time about the reservations for Jats.
Kejriwal had said that the Jats of Delhi is not included in the OBC list of the Central Government while their community in Rajasthan is in the OBC list of the Center. Just before the elections, not only the Aam Aadmi Party but also the BJP and Congress are concerned about the rights of the Jat community. Like other political parties, the way the Aam Aadmi Party has put forth its point for the Jats for the first time regarding the caste equation is being interpreted in many ways.
Influential in 10 seats: Political analyst Naveen Gautam while talking to ETV Bharat said, "Aam Aadmi Party of Delhi is trying to win the assembly elections for the third time with absolute majority. The rural areas in Haryana, Rajasthan, Western Uttar Pradesh and the nearby areas adjoining Delhi have a good number of Jat villages. Out of the 70 assembly seats in Delhi, Jats influence around 10 seats. These seats are Mehrauli, Najafgarh, Bijwasan, Palam, Matiala, Vikaspuri, Nangloi Jat, Narela, Rithala and Mundka assembly seats. BJP once had a good hold on these Jat-dominated assembly seats."
Naveen Gautam said that Jats were once the centre of powerful politics in Delhi. In 1996, Delhi got its first Jat Chief Minister in the form of Sahib Singh Verma. Later, Delhi became urbanized and the influence of Jats gradually decreased. In 2008, due to the delimitation of constituencies, many seats shifted from one place to another. Now, villages of the Jat community are found in western and outer Delhi. The villagers vote unitedly, so all political parties remain cautious about them.
''The political mood of Delhi's assembly seats is not the same. Every seat has its equation and that is why any political party tries to woo the vote bank of every section before the election. If we look at the results of the last three assembly elections after the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party, then the party towards which the Purvanchal, Vaishya, Punjabi and Jat voters have inclined, their victory is certain. On some seats, the role of Dalit voters also becomes important.'' - Naveen Gautam, Political Expert.
BJP fields Jat leader against Kejriwal: This time BJP has fielded Pravesh Verma, who is contesting against Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly elections. He is a Jat leader. Apart from this, Kailash Gehlot, who joined BJP from Aam Aadmi Party in November last year, is also a Jat leader. Kejriwal has fielded Raghuvinder Shaukeen from Nangloi Jat. He was also included in the cabinet just before the elections. Raghvinder Shaukeen won the election from Delhi's Nangloi Jat seat twice in the years 2015 and 2020. The party has given him a ticket for the third time as well.
Won all 10 seats: With the entry of Aam Aadmi Party in politics, Jat-dominated seats shifted from BJP to it. In the first assembly elections of 2013, Aam Aadmi Party succeeded in winning 8 out of 10 Jat-dominated seats in Delhi. BJP got one seat. But after 2015, the atmosphere changed completely and all the seats went in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party. In the assembly elections of 2015 and 2020, all 10 Jat-dominated seats were won by the Aam Aadmi Party, BJP and Congress could not even open their account.
Jat dominated assembly seats in Delhi and names of candidates contesting the elections:
| Assembly seats | You | BJP | Congress |
| Mehrauli | Mahendra Chowdhary | Gajendra Yadav | Pushpa Singh |
| Najafgarh | Tarun Yadav | Neelam Wrestler | Sushma Yadav |
| Bijwasan | Surendra Bharadwaj | Kailash Gehlot | Devendra Sehrawat |
| Palam | Joginder Solanki | Kuldeep Solanki | Ram demands |
| Matiala | Somesh Shaukeen | Sandeep Sehrawat | Raghuvinder Shokeen |
| Vikaspuri | Mahendra Yadav | Pankaj Singh | Jitendra Solanki |
| Nangloi Jat | Raghuvinder Solanki | Manoj Solanki | Rohit Chowdhary |
| Narela | Dinesh Bhardwaj | Rajkaran Khatri | Aruna Kumari |
| Mundka | Jasbir Karala | Gajendra Daral | Dharmpal Lakra |
| Rithala | Mahendra Goyal | Kulwant Rana | Sushant Mishra |
Delhi's Jat leader Raj Dabas says that if we look at the Lok Sabha elections held in June last year, Jat voters voted in favour of the BJP. In the last two Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has been successful in winning Jat-dominated seats. This time the Aam Aadmi Party is probably worried about losing its vote bank. That is why they have raised the issue of reservation for the Jat community.
Pravesh Verma cornered Kejriwal: Pravesh Verma, BJP candidate from the New Delhi assembly seat, says that Kailash Gehlot, who was a minister in the Aam Aadmi Party government, had written a letter to Kejriwal twice on the reservations issue but did not get any reply. The state government first passes the proposal and sends it to the National OBC Commission. In the last 10 years, Kejriwal called a special session of the assembly several times, but he did not pass the proposal to include Jats in the central OBC list. Verma said, adding that this makes his intention clear.
