The electoral battle in Jangpura got a fillip with the AAP replacing its two-time MLA Praveen Kumar with former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who was earlier representing the Patparganj assembly.

In reaction to this move, BJP fielded a Congress turncoat Tarvinder Singh Marwah, a three time MLA from here in order to challenge Sisodia while Congress has made Farhad Suri, a former MCD Mayor as its candidate.

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Once a stronghold of the Congress, the saffron party candidate has never won from this seat since the inception of assembly elections in Delhi. In order to change this dynamic, it has trusted Marwah, who is also the longest serving MLA from here and had ran unsuccessfully in the last three elections, getting substantial votes.

The constituency is divided into Jangpura, Jangpura Extension, Jangpura A and Jangpura B. It has posh neighbourhoods of south Delhi, including Lajpat Nagar, Nizamuddin (East) and Sunder Nagar, urbanized villages like Kilokari, Bhogal, Nizamuddin Basti and Ashram.

Until the last decade, Punjabi voters, who had migrated from Rawalpindi and nearby areas after the partition in 1947 decided the fate of political representatives from here, but like other parts, their influence has somewhat decreased a bit but they still play a key role.

The elite shopping destination also has slums colonies especially alongside the Delhi ring railway network inhabited by the migrants. They also hold a key to power and the freebies by all parties will decide the votes of voters living in the slums.

Like the rest of the city, civic issues are a major concern for the residents such as lack of parking facilities in the markets, poor sanitation, dirty water, broken roads, waterlogging and sewage.

For the businessman of Bhogal market, security is an important issue as in 2023, one of the biggest heists in the city of around 20 crore took place in a jewelry shop in this market. “After that burglary, the market still lacks proper security and the businessmen are forced to keep private security guards”, a shopkeeper told the newspaper adding that no party out of the three major players, AAP, BJP and Congress are highlighting this issue.

Moreover the bad shape of roads and absence of parking also affects the business in the Bhogal market which is one of the famous jewelry markets in the city, he added.

For Manish Sisodia, a challenge lies from Jangpura, however, the margin by AAP MLA Kumar in the last two elections, getting almost 50 per cent of vote share, and Sisodia’s closeness with AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and a surety of getting a ministerial berth if the party returns to power gives him an edge over his rivals.

Marwah, on other hand enjoys a good amount of votes, both from the Punjabi community and core BJP voters. In fact, Harmeet Singh Kalka, President Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee had urged the Sikh and Punjabi community to support Marwah in the elections. In addition to this, being an MLA thrice from here, he also has a personal vote bank to support him.

Suri who is not so popular in the media is an equally strong candidate in front of the above two on this seat as he is a former Mayor and a four time councilor from Daryaganj ward lying in this constituency. He also held a grip on the core Congress voters after Marwah left the party.