AAP, BJP roll out plans and field purvanchalis in big nos, Congress lags

NEW DELHI: With just 20 days to go for the assembly elections in Delhi, both AAP and BJP are trying hard to win Purvanchal voters in the national capital. Although the 2015 election saw AAP crumbling all voting calculations, this time, everyone is trying to get a large pie of Purvanchal votes, which over the years have become a strong factor from local to parliament elections in Delhi.

There are around 30 seats where Purvanchal voters play an important role and, of these, 15 seats are dominated by them. AAP has nominated 13 Purvanchal-based leaders in this election, while BJP has named eight Purvanchal leaders among the 57 candidates it announced on Friday. Congress is much behind with only three in 54 candidates announced by the party.

In 2015, AAP had given tickets to 13 Purvanchal leaders, all of whom won the election. In comparison, BJP had fielded only three leaders with a Purvanchal background.

Purvanchal voters form 29% to 30% of the electorate in Delhi and are largely based in the east, north east and outer areas of Delhi such as Badarpur and Dwarka. Post 2015, BJP also became a serious contender for Purvanchal voters by promoting North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari as president of the party’s Delhi unit.

During the build up to assembly election, AAP organised Aapan Purvanchal festival across 300 locations in Delhi to maintain connect with the voter class. The AAP government in Delhi has also introduced Maithili as an optional subject in government schools to attract the Maithili-speaking voters. AAP also claims to have built more than a thousand ghats across Delhi to enable Purvanchal people to offer prayers during the Chhath Puja.

BJP, on the other hand, is offering to build a Yamuna river front where Chhath Puja can be offered at a large scale. “We have given names for candidates on 21 seats in Delhi,” says Delhi BJP Purvanchal Morcha president Manish Singh. “Party will take a call on the list.”

The importance of Purvanchal voters in Delhi can be understood from the fact that for the first time, BJP is willing to spare seats for candidates of JD(U), of which it is an ally in Bihar. Sources told ET that right now, two seats have been offered to the party and that it will also make sure that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar campaigns in Delhi. This would take the number of Purvanchal-based leaders fielded by the party so far to 10.

Congress, which was the first party to ensure Purvanchali representation in Delhi through a strong leader like Mahabal Mishra, is a little behind AAP and BJP. Congress made former BJP leader Kirti Azad as the chairman of Delhi election campaign committee and has given ticket to his wife Poonam Azad from Sangam Vihar. In total, the party has given tickets to only three Purvanchalis. Congress is also offering four seats in Delhi to RJD, its ally in Bihar, to ensure a better representation to Purvanchalis.