It’s BJP’s Khandelwal against veteran Congress leader Agarwal in Chandni Chowk

2024 Lok Sabha election in Delhi. File photo of Arvind Kejriwal addressing a public gathering.

Chandni Chowk area is a thickly populated commercial hub which is surrounded by historical buildings. The bustling markets and the popular roadside eateries witness people hustling along as the iconic Red Fort stand as a mute spectator. Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, the Jama Masjid, Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir with its unique bird hospital, and some old havelis are also situated in the vicinity.

The old market has retained its charm and historic value over the years. It was built in the 17th century by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, opposite the Red Fort and close to Fatehpuri Mosque.

Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency is among Delhi’s seven Parliamentary seats and the smallest in terms of area. It comprises 10 assembly segments, which are Adarsh Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, Shakur Basti, Tri Nagar, Wazirpur, Model Town, Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal, and Ballimaran. All these assembly constituencies’ result in Delhi Assembly election 2020 went in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) though the Lok Sabha seat was retained by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union minister Harsh Vardhan.

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In 2024, BJP replaced its candidate with BJP’s Praveen Khandelwal, who is secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) website. The 64-year-old businessman is a voter from Chandni Chowk. He obtained a BA degree from Ramjas College in 1980, and LLB in 1983 from Delhi University. His standing among traders in the area is being seen as a reason for nominating him in place of Harsh Vardhan.

In 2017, Khandelwal was nominated to be part of the government’s GST panel. Incidentally, CAIT organised a two-day national meet of trade leaders on February 7 and 8 in 2020 to focus on GST, digital payments. In 2021, Khandelwal, with seven others, joined the Central Government's panel as advisor on preventing digital monopoly.

In June 2020, Khandelwal spearheaded a CAIT move to boycott Chinese products titled ‘Indian Goods- Our Pride’. Its aim was to reduce imports from China by Rs 1 lakh crore by December 2021. On Independence Day 2021, he launched a new e-commerce portal Bharat-e-market to compete with platforms like Amazon India and Flipkart.

Meanwhile, Congress candidate from Chandni Chowk, Jai Prakash Agarwal (79) is contesting his 12th election. The veteran politician was first elected as a councillor in 1983. He has earlier represented Chandni Chowk as an MP in 1984, 1989, and 1996. However, he faced defeat subsequently in the 1991, 1998, and 1999 general elections.

In the 2004 Lok Sabha poll he was replaced with Kapil Sibal, who went on to win from this constituency, defeating BJP’s Smriti Irani. The Congress candidate retained the seat in 2009, but came third in 2014 behind winner Harsh Vardhan and runner-up Ashutosh of AAP.

In 2019, Congress renominated Agarwal from Chandni Chowk, but he failed to defeat Harsh Vardhan. He has also contested from North East Delhi twice, winning in 2009 and losing in 2014. He has also been a member of the Rajya Sabha from Delhi.

While Khandelwal will be relying on his association with traders and the work he has done for the business community, Agarwal will depend on his personal relation with people on the ground in an area where he has grown up and been an active participant in politics.

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Since the first Lok Sabha election was held in 1957 at Chandni Chowk, the Congress has won here nine times. The BJP and its precursor Bharatiya Jana Sangh have been victorious five times, while Sikandar Bakht of Janata Party was elected in 1977 in the anti-Emergency, anti-Indira wave.

The total electors registered in Chandni Chowk was 15,62,283 in 2019, of which 9,80,390 or 62.75% exercised their franchise.

And in 2024, an interesting contest is in the offing where among other contenders, a veteran Congress leader, with the support of AAP, will face a comparative newcomer from the BJP in this busy business neighbourhood.