Delhi polls: Muslim votes stay with AAP as party wins 6 of 7 seats

NEW DELHI: On February 8, a crucial factor in the political landscape was ‘The Muslim vote.’ Despite being in a tight race with the BJP, AAP candidates performed exceptionally well in Muslim-majority constituencies, winning six out of the seven seats where this community holds a substantial vote share.

The results showed that AAP candidates won in Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal, Babarpur, Seelampur, Okhla and Ballimaran, with Mustafabad being the only exception.

As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), Mohan Singh Bisht of the BJP led with 77,310 votes in Mustafabad Assembly, while Adeel Ahmad Khan of AAP lost with 49,923 votes. In the previous assembly elections, AAP’s Haji Yunus won with a margin of 20,704 votes, defeating BJP’s Jagdish Pradhan, who received 78,146 votes.

In the Babarpur assembly, AAP’s Gopal Rai secured victory with 72,449 votes, while BJP’s Anil Kumar Vashisht received 46,448 votes, and Congress’ Mohd Ishraq Khan garnered 8,556 votes. In earlier Assembly elections, Rai won by a margin of 33,062 votes, with BJP’s Naresh Gaur finishing as the runner-up, receiving 51,714 votes.

AAP’s Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad led by 34,706 votes in the Seelampur assembly, while Anil Kumar Sharma (Gaur) of the BJP lost by 16,577 votes. Abdul Rehman of the Indian National Congress only managed to secure 7,038 votes. In a different contest, AAP’s Abdul Rehman won by 36,920 votes, defeating BJP’s Kaushal Kumar Mishra, who received 35,774 votes.

AAP’s Amanatullah Khan, who has held the Okhla assembly seat since 2015, won by a narrow margin of 2,068 votes. The competition initially appeared to be a direct contest between AAP and BJP, but changed when AIMIM fielded Shifa Ur Rehman, who actively campaigned in Muslim-dominated areas such as Batla House, Shaheen Bagh, Zakir Nagar, and Abul Fazal Enclave.

In the Chandni Chowk assembly, AAP’s Punardeep Singh Sawhney (Sabby) won by 35,725 votes, while BJP’s Satish Jain received 20,556 votes, followed by Mudit Agarwal of Congress.