INDIA bloc’s Delhi dilemma: Balancing gender, caste on capital’s Lok Sabha seats

The party, sources said, faces a significant conundrum given the AAP’s picks – Kuldeep Kumar from East, Mahabal Mishra from West, Sahi Ram from South and Somnath Bharti from New Delhi – in regards to the gender ratio of the alliance’s joint political front against the BJP which has fielded Kamlajeet Sehrawat from West and Bansuri Swaraj from New Delhi.

“The gender ratio of the candidates fielded by parties in the capital is as significant, if not more, as the caste and community equation of any political panel. Since the AAP has fielded four male candidates, the onus of introducing balance is now on the Congress,” a senior leader said.

“Not just at least one woman candidate, we also have to factor in the representation of the Baniya, Muslim and Jat communities in ticket selection on a very limited number of seats,” the leader added.

According to party sources, front-runners for a Congress ticket included Krishna Tirath, Alka Lamba, Bhisham Sharma, Raj Kumar Chauhan, Jai Prakash Aggarwal, Mateen Ahmed, Kanhaiya Kumar and Sandeep Dikshit.

Another issue before the party was to ensure symmetry between the prevalent caste-community equation of a particular Lok Sabha seat and that of a potential candidate in addition to their “winnability” from it.

“We have to view the panel of candidates as a whole and not as two separate entities being brought together. The AAP, for instance, has already fielded two Poorvanchalis; though the Congress too has leaders from this community, it is unlikely to field them to avoid over-representation,” a party source said.

“Similarly, while the party has more than one potential choice from the Brahmin community, they do not seem to be a fit for Chandni Chowk and Northeast Delhi. If this combination is not successfully chalked out, we may ask for a review of the joint INDIA bloc panel of candidates – including the AAP’s picks – by both the AAP and Congress leadership going forward,” the source added.