New Delhi: The politics have heated up in the national capital as the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 on Tuesday.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is trying hard to return to power for a fourth time, while the main opposition parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, are also desperate to capture the throne by playing strategically on several seats.
One of the crucial seats, which is considered the old fort of Congress but was never won by the BJP, is the Ballimaran assembly constituency in Central Delhi.
‘Highest Muslim Voters’
The leader who won the Ballimaran seat and became an MLA has always had the opportunity to become a cabinet minister in Delhi except once.
Congress leader Haroon Yusuf got a cabinet berth thrice in the former Chief Minister Sheila Dixit-led government, while AAP MLA Imran Hussain, who won from this seat twice, is a minister. He is also seen as the main Muslim face of the AAP government in Delhi.
Congress has given a ticket to its veteran leader Haroon for the eighth time on the Ballimaran seat, while the AAP has fielded Imran for the third time, given its highest Muslim electorates.
Ballimaran comes under the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency, which has the mansion of the famous poet Mirza Ghalib. Most of the areas of Old Delhi come under the Ballimaran and Jangpura Assembly constituencies, including Kinari Bazaar, Meena Bazaar, and other areas.
Till now, this was the smallest assembly constituency in Delhi in terms of voters. But now the number of voters in this assembly constituency has increased in the new voter list released by the ECI on January 6. After Delhi Cantt, this has become the second assembly seat with the least number of voters in the capital.
Political History And Dominance
The BJP has never won from this seat in the seven assembly elections held so far, as its candidates faced defeat by a huge margin. Congress’s Haroon won this seat five times while the AAP won twice. Most of the time, the BJP candidate got only the second position. After AAP’s victory, Congress was pushed to the third position.
Congress leader Haroon Yusuf registered his first win on the seat in 1993 and continued with the winning spree till 2013. However, the party performed poorly in 2015 and 2020, resulting in fortifying deposits of the party veteran.
The BJP candidate had given tough competition to Haroon Yusuf on this seat only once, in 2008, when the BJP candidate Motilal Sodhi lost by 6,277 votes. This was the best performance of the BJP on this seat so far.
In 2015 and 2020, AAP candidate Imran Hussain won with huge margins—33,877 votes in the first election and 36,172 votes next.
The main issues highlighted by the locals include lack of security and cleanliness, encroachment, traffic jams, and lack of adequate parking.
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