Unkept promises could spell trouble for Haroon Yusuf
28 Nov 2013 5:31 AM IST
The assembly seat comprises of four wards that include Ballimaran, Qasabpura, Ram Nagar and Idgah Road.
Yusuf has been winning from the seat since 1993, when Delhi assembly was reconstituted. After the demolition of Babri Mosque in Ayodhaya on 6 December, 1992 the entire Muslim community was annoyed with the Congress. Muslim candidates of the party were defeated in areas dominated by the minority community across Delhi, but Yusuf’s staunch supporters had not deserted him even then.
After the delimitation process of 2008, however, the Muslim vote share has shrunk from 65 per cent to 38 per cent in Ballimaran. Yusuf won the last assembly election with a very thin margin of a mere 6,000 votes.
Interestingly there is no anti-incumbency against the Congress government, but people of the area are particularly angry with Yusuf. ‘The minister is not easily accessible. Even when he meets people and listens to their problems he only makes commitments but fails to fulfil them. We spend Rs 50-100 on conveyance to go and meet him and that goes for a waste since nothing is done about our problems,’ said Khalilullah, who runs an optical showroom in the area.
Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Motilal Sodhi against Yusuf in the upcoming assembly election. Ram Nagar was added to Ballimaran in the delimitation process. The area has around 55 per cent schedule caste voters, which is likely to go in favour of Sodhi.
The incumbent MLA is also set to face trouble from Bahujan Samaj Party’s sitting Ballimaran councillor Imran Hussain who is likely to get votes from the minority community members.
‘Muslim voters have been influenced with the work done by BSP candidate Imran Hussain, who paid more attention to the problems faced by the locals, while Yusuf could not fulfil assurances and was never accessible,’ said Atique Ahmed, who runs a stationery shop in the area.
Yusuf has been winning from the seat since 1993, when Delhi assembly was reconstituted. After the demolition of Babri Mosque in Ayodhaya on 6 December, 1992 the entire Muslim community was annoyed with the Congress. Muslim candidates of the party were defeated in areas dominated by the minority community across Delhi, but Yusuf’s staunch supporters had not deserted him even then.
After the delimitation process of 2008, however, the Muslim vote share has shrunk from 65 per cent to 38 per cent in Ballimaran. Yusuf won the last assembly election with a very thin margin of a mere 6,000 votes.
Interestingly there is no anti-incumbency against the Congress government, but people of the area are particularly angry with Yusuf. ‘The minister is not easily accessible. Even when he meets people and listens to their problems he only makes commitments but fails to fulfil them. We spend Rs 50-100 on conveyance to go and meet him and that goes for a waste since nothing is done about our problems,’ said Khalilullah, who runs an optical showroom in the area.
Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Motilal Sodhi against Yusuf in the upcoming assembly election. Ram Nagar was added to Ballimaran in the delimitation process. The area has around 55 per cent schedule caste voters, which is likely to go in favour of Sodhi.
The incumbent MLA is also set to face trouble from Bahujan Samaj Party’s sitting Ballimaran councillor Imran Hussain who is likely to get votes from the minority community members.
‘Muslim voters have been influenced with the work done by BSP candidate Imran Hussain, who paid more attention to the problems faced by the locals, while Yusuf could not fulfil assurances and was never accessible,’ said Atique Ahmed, who runs a stationery shop in the area.
Next Story
