Delhi Assembly Election 2020, Shalimar Bagh profile: BJP seeks to regain bastion it lost to AAP in 2013, reposes trust in Rekha Gupta

Delhi Assembly Election 2020, Shalimar Bagh profile: Shalimar Bagh, a traditional BJP bastion, goes to polls on 8 February along with the rest of the Union Territory. The counting of votes will take place on 11 February. The current term of the Assembly will expire on 22 February. The fight in Shalimar Bagh, like the rest of the Union Territory, is mainly between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The AAP, which was re-nominated former deputy speaker Bandana Kumari as its candidate, would seek to retain power on the back of the development agenda it pursued in the last five years. On the other hand, the BJP's candidate Rekha Gupta would try to regain the seat it the party to lost out to AAP in 2015. Meanwhile, the Congress has given the ticket to JS Nayol, a prominent local businessman. 

Earlier, Shalimar Bagh was part of Outer Delhi, but after delimitation in 2008 by Delimitation Commission of India, it became part of Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency.

Here's a brief profile of the constituency:

Constituency Name: Shalimar Bagh

Constituency Number: 14

District Name: North Delhi

Total Electors: 174417

Female Electors: 80250

Male Electors: 94157

Third Gender: 10

Reserved: No

Results in previous elections: BJP has won this constituency four times out of the six Delhi elections. Whereas AAP has won this constituency two times. Once a BJP stronghold, former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma won this seat in 1993 polls. Between 1998 and 2013, Ravinder Bansal of the BJP held the seat. He lost the seat to incumbent MLA Bandana Kumari of AAP in 2013. Kumari again defeated Rekha Gupta in 2015 and maintained her grip on the seat. 

Demographics: Pitampura, Haiderpur village, Shalimar Bagh, Shalimar village are some of the areas covered under the constituency. Vaishya voters could play a key role in determining the fortunes of the candidates in this constituency. While middle-class localities have been complaining about the lack of public parking spaces, JJ clusters in the constituency complain of lack of public amenities, traffic snarls, and lack of potable water. 

January 28, 2020 at 03:53PM