Matiala constituency: The seat will go for polls on February 8. Sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Gulab Singh Yadav, who had won the seat for the party in the 2015 Delhi state assembly elections, will be contesting once again from the Matiala assembly seat this year.
The Matiala constituency first came into existence in 2008 and its first representative was Congress' Sumesh Shokeen. BJP's Rajesh Gehlot won the seat in the 2013 Delhi state assembly elections, and in the 2015 polls, AAP's Gulab Singh Yadav emerged victorious. Matiala is, therefore, one of the constituencies which have not been consistent with their votes and have frequented between parties in successive assembly polls. This factor ought to work for or against the parties contesting the Delhi Assembly Elections 2020, depending on the situation.
The largest constituency in the Union Territory of Delhi, Matiala is dominated by Jats, Ahirs, and Tyagis. There are several migrants from the Purvanchal region in this area as well.
In the 2015 Delhi state assembly elections, AAP's Gulab Singh Yadav with 1,27,665 votes emerged victorious, defeating BJP's Rajesh Gehlot (with 80,661 votes) and Congress' Sumesh Shokeen (with 20,284 votes).
This year, sitting AAP MLA Gulab Singh Yadav is contesting the Matiala assembly constituency once again. Against Yadav, the BJP and the Congress have pitched their faiths once again on Rajesh Gehlot and Sumesh Shokeen respectively. A close contest among all three parties is expected, given that the contenders are old rivals in this electocracy.
The constituency of Matiala is a part of the West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency and lies in the South West Delhi district. Matiala is the largest constituency in the Union Territory of Delhi, in terms of the electorate and has also the highest number of first-time voters (7,184). Wooing this voter base, therefore, is likely to prove key towards winning the assembly constituency.
The Matiala assembly constituency has 3,47,396 prospective voters, out of which 1,89,777 are male, 1,57,589 are female, and 30 are transgenders.
In the Delhi Assembly Elections 2020, AAP will be contesting from all 70 seats for the assembly polls while BJP will be contesting on 67 seats, with its ally Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) contesting on the remaining three seats.
On the other hand, Congress will fight on 66 seats and its ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will fight on the remaining 4 seats.
Polling will be held at 13,750 polling stations. According to the poll body chief, total electors in the final electoral roll of the NCT of Delhi as on January 6, 2020, are 1,46,92,136.
The polls for all the seats will be held on February 8, 2020, and the results will be declared on February 11, 2020.
It is to be noted that in 2015, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had a landmark victory after it secured 67 of the total 70 seats in the state legislature. The party is now eyeing a second consecutive term banking on freebies that it provided to Delhiites including free water, free electricity up to 200 units, free ride for women in DTC and cluster buses, among other measures.