Delhi Assembly Polls: Here's a list of key candidates and seats to watch out for

As the election date draws closer, several prominent figures are taking center stage in this intense political contest.

Delhi is set for a fierce three-way battle in the upcoming Assembly elections, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), BJP, and Congress all vying for power.

As AAP aims to secure a third consecutive term in the national capital, both BJP and Congress are pulling out all the stops to claim their stake in the capital’s political landscape. As the election date draws closer, several prominent figures are taking center stage in this intense political contest.

Here is a list of key constituencies and candidates voters should watch out for.

- New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal has always contested from the New Delhi seat. This trend has followed for the last three assembly elections. This time, he is up against BJP’s Parvesh Verma and Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit. Kejriwal’s previous victories were marked by significant margins, including a 21,687-vote lead in the 2020 elections. The former CM is using AAP's welfare schemes, including the promise of monthly allowances, such as Rs 2,100 for women, as poll plank.

-Malviya Nagar : The Malviya Nagar constituency will see AAP candidate Somnath Bharti contest the elections for the seat once again, winning the last 3 elections with an impressive lead over his competitors. Bharti won the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections with more than 50% of the vote share. The seat will also be contested by BJP’s Satish Upadhyay, along with the Congress’ Jitendra Kumar Kochar.

-Ballimaran: The seat, which falls under the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency, has been a stronghold for Muslim candidates, with its demographic predominantly Muslim. The AAP has once again given its ticket to Imran Hussain, a prominent Muslim face and incumbent minister. On the other hand, the Congress has reposed its faith in veteran leader Haroon Yusuf, who has represented this constituency several times in the past. He was also a cabinet minister in the Sheila Dikshit government. Despite its repeated attempts, the BJP has never been able to clinch a win here. The BJP has named Kamal Bagri as its candidate for Ballimaran. Bagri, who won the Delhi Municipal Corporation election from the Ram Nagar constituency in 2022, replaced Lata Sodhi, the party’s candidate for Ballimaran in 2020.

- Rohini: The Rohini seat will see a fierce rivalry between the AAP and the BJP. In the 2013 and 2015 elections, the winning margin was close to only 5000 votes between the two parties. BJP’s 2-time winner (2015 and 2020) Vijender Gupta will run for the seat a 3rd time against AAP candidate Pradeep Mittal. Gupta won the seat against AAP’s Rajesh Nama ‘Bansiwala’ in the 2020 elections by more than 12,000 votes.

-Shakur Basti: The BJP has chosen Karnail Singh, the chief of its Delhi Mandir Prakoshth (temple cell), as its candidate from the Shakur Basti constituency for Delhi Assembly elections. He will contest against senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain.

-Patparganj: The constituency has been a stronghold of the AAP as it was won by party veteran Manish Sisodia in the last three elections. This year however, the party has put up teacher-turned-politician Awadh Ojha as its candidate against BJP’s Ravinder Singh Negi and the Congress’ Anil Chaudhary. Before the AAP, it was the Congress that dominated the constituency from 1998 to 2013. According to the 2001 Census of India, Patparganj had a population of approximately 34,409, with males comprising 55% and females 45% of the population. In the 2020 polls, Sisodia won with 70,163 votes.

- Kalkaji: This seat is crucial for AAP, Congress, and BJP, with a fierce three-way battle for victory. Both the AAP and Congress have fielded women candidates. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Singh (AAP) is pitted against Congress leader Alka Lamba and BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri. The constituency has a total of 1,94,515 voters, including 1,06,893 male voters, 87,617 female voters, and 5 transgender voters. AAP won the seat in the last two elections. In the 2020 elections, Atishi won the seat, defeating BJP's Dharambir Singh by a margin of 11,393 votes.

- Jangpura: The seat of was won by the AAP in 2020 as well as 2015 by Praveen Kumar. This year however, the party has brought in a new candidate Manish Sisodia. The AAP leader is pitted against Tarvinder Singh Marwah Congress leader Farhad Suri. In the 2020 elections, the AAP won by more than 15,000 votes. According to reports, fielding Sisodia is part of AAP’s larger electoral strategy to tackle anti-incumbency and consolidate its position across the national capital.

- Okhla: The Okhla constituency will be contested by Amanatullah Khan from the Aam Aadmi Party for the 3rd consecutive time. The Congress has named Ariba Khan to contest against AAP's Amanatullah Khan. Khan in 2020 as well as 2015 defeated BJP Candidate Braham Singh with a margin of more 60,000 votes each time.