All eyes fixed on Arvind Kejriwal & Sisodia in this potboiler of politics
New Delhi: Ahead of the ensuing Assembly polls which is keeping the city glued to the electioneering potboiler, the two seats — New Delhi, where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is contesting and Patparganj which was won twice by Manish Sisodia in 2013 and 2015 holds great significance in this standalone election slated to be held on February 8.
The last victory for Sisodia proved to be a cakewalk with his vote share increasing from 41.5 per cent (2013) to 53.5 per cent (2015). In 2013 BJP launched Nakul Bhardwaj while Congress was represented by Anil Kumar and AAP fielded Sisodia who won by 11,476 votes. However, in 2015, BJP changed their candidate and fielded Vinod Kumar Binny while Congress and AAP repeated their previous candidates. The AAP won by a larger margin of 28,761 votes.
However, the 2020 polls seem to be more interesting for several reasons. Both the BJP and Congress have changed their candidates while the AAP-led government's Deputy CM will be contesting from his constituency seat again. Ravi Negi (BJP) and Laxman Rawat (Congress) are the new faces, though they have served at district and ward level for several years.
Moreover, both of them have a common factor and selecting them can be considered as a tactical move by the parties to woo voters. Both Negi and Rawat are migrants from the Garhwal hills of Uttarakhand, and Patparganj's 20 per cent voting population is from Uttarakhand, according to data shared by the different parties.
The Garhwalis are nestled in East and West Vinod Nagar and parts of Chandan Vihar and have been AAP supporters but in the upcoming elections, is a mixed feeling seems to be brewing among them.
A shopkeeper in East Vinod Nagar who has been running his store for the past 22 years said, "Ravi comes when someone is in trouble I will give a new candidate a chance. Congress is nowhere to be seen."
Meanwhile, a homemaker in Block-E, West Vinod Nagar said, "I will vote for AAP because they have done good work. Look at the schools – they are better than private schools. Last time I voted for BJP but this time it will be AAP because of their work."
From 1998 till 2013, the Patparganj seat was dominated by Congress while the BJP had last won the seat in 1993, but in 2013 AAP's Sisodia had won it hands-down.
