North East sees highest voter turnout in national capital

North-East Lok Sabha Constituency, which comprises of the maximum number of minority voters (20%-25%), scored the highest amongst all seven constituencies in the national capital, in terms of voter turnout (67.08%).

Jai Prakash Agrwal (INC), Manoj Tiwari (BJP) and Anand Kumar (AAP) are involved in a three-way battle for this seat. Jai Prakash Aggarwal is the sitting member of parliament (MP) from this constituency. 

The constituency consists of nine assembly segments. In the 2013 assembly elections, BJP had won five segments (Rohtash Nagar, Babarpur, Gokulpur, Karawal Nagar, Ghonda), AAP had won two (Burari, Timarpur, Seemapuri) and Congress secured the other two (Seelampur, Mustabfabad).

‘This time people are not voting for their candidates who are standing from their respective constituencies. Voters are casting their vote on the image put forward by these parties,’ said Shyam Mohan, a 95-year-old man who casted his vote in Seemapuri.

In Seelampur and Mustafabad assembly segments, minority voters are the highest. In the Lok Sabha elections it has been observed that this vote share may remain split between Congress and AAP.  In the recent assembly elections, Congress won in both segments. ‘The fact that the minority votes traditionally remain in favour of Congress, might help JP Aggarwal to win the seat,’ Arif Mohammad, a voter said.

However, speaking to Millennium Post, Manoj Tiwari, Bhojpuri actor-cum-singer who got the ticket from BJP said, ‘Narendra Modi is the only solution to save India. This time people will come out of their home only to vote for Modi.’ Tiwari also added that there is a Modi wave in the country.

Also, around 25-30% of the locals residing in this constituency are Poorvanchalis, whose vote allegedly is in favour of Manoj Tiwari. However, speculation suggests that AAP might play spoil sport.

In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Indian National Congress gained a clean sweep in North-East constituency against BJP’s Bai Kunth Lal Sharma Prem. JP Agarwal, who won the 2009 elections with the majority of 2,22,243 votes is still hoping that Congress will win this seat again.

‘Development is the major issue in North-East Delhi. Everyone has seen the real colors of AAP so voters are not going to waste their vote by casting vote for AAP again,’ Aggarwal said.

But Anand Kumar, AAP candidate, who is a retired professor of Sociology at JNU said, ‘The youth is with AAP as this generation wants change and had always supported the AAP movement in the capital. People will vote for change.’

North-East constituency came into existence in 2008 as a part of the implementation of recommendations by the Delimitation Commission of India, constituted in 2002.