New Delhi: After Congress leader Sajjan Kumar's convictions in 1984 Sikh riots, Congress party is looking for a suitable candidate from South Delhi in upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Speculations are rife that former MLA Balram Tanwar might be the front-runner for the constituency. The political veteran had been MLA for more than 10 years. He served as an MLA in two constituencies Chhatarpur and Mehrauli. Gujjars and Jat voters dominate a number of Assembly segments in the South Delhi Parliamentary constituency. The major part of the demography consists of rural and unauthorised colonies.
Local party workers from South Delhi on condition of anonymity, claimed that he was two-time MLA in Gujjar dominated areas. "People over here had seen his hard work which includes proper water supply in the area," said one of the workers. They further stated that if he gets chance from the party, Balram Tanwar can perform better. After the conviction of Sajjan Kumar, the roads appear closed for younger brother Ramesh Kumar who had got the opportunity to contest in 2014, so in the current scenario Tanwar can be a potential candidate for the party.
Another worker stated that Tanwar has good representation in communities including Gujjar as many of them know him for his work done during two-time MLA tenure. He has been providing strength to the party at constituency levels for several years. "Party should give him an opportunity in the upcoming election. He is a potential candidate," added the worker.
The South Delhi Parliamentary seat contains 10 Assembly constituencies –Bijwasan, Palam, Mehrauli, Chhatarpur, Deoli, Ambedkar Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Kalkaji, Tughlakabad and Badarpur. The constituency has a total of 42 villages out of which 18 are dominated by Jats and 12 by the Gujjar community.
In the last Lok Sabha election, Ramesh Bidhuri from BJP won South Delhi constituency. He got as many as 4.97 lakh votes whereas Colonel Devinder Sehrawat from AAP got 3.90 lakh votes and Ramesh Kumar from Congress was able to secure 1.25 lakh votes.