1. New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal vs Parvesh Verma vs Sandeep Dikshit New Delhi constituency in the national capital holds great importance for a simple reason. It is the seat where the chief minister Arvind Kejriwal contests elections. He first fought from New Delhi seat and this trend has followed for the last three assembly elections. In the 2013 elections, Arvind Kejriwal won the seat against Congress' Sheila Dikshit, who was the then chief minister of Delhi and the holder of the New Delhi seat for the 3 elections from 1998 to 2013. This time around, there is a heavy three-way battle around the New Delhi seat, with AAP's Arvind Kejriwal facing off against BJP's Parvesh Verma and Congress' Sandeep Dikshit. Kejriwal has been a strong presence in the fields of education, healthcare and more recently providing monetary benefits and value to the people. Interestingly, both these candidates are also sons of former Delhi Chief Ministers - Parvesh Sharma, the son of former CM Sahib Singh Sharma, and Sandeep Dikshit the son of former CM Sheila Dikshit. 2. Jangpura: Manish Sisodia vs Tarvinder Singh Marwah vs Farhad Suri The seat of the Jangpura constituency was won by the AAP in 2020 as well as 2015 by Praveen Kumar. This year however, the party has brought in a new candidate Manish Sisodia. Sisodia in recent times is infamous for spending time behind bars for his connection in the Liquor Policy case. The BJP has put up Tarvinder Singh Marwah as its candidate for the seat, and Congress has put up Farhad Suri as its candidate. The 3-way tussle is an interesting case as even though the AAP has won the past 2 elections, the introduction of the former deputy CM Sisodia could prove to be a risky gamble. In the 2020 elections, the AAP won by more than 15,000 votes than its closest competitor, the BJP, and would hope to continue their streak. 3. Kalkaji: Atishi vs Ramesh Bidhuri vs Alka Lamba The Kalkaji seat is another heavily contested seat this year, with the current Delhi CM Atishi fighting as the AAP candidate against BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri and the Congress' Alka Lamba. Atishi has gathered a strong foothold in recent times with her emphasis on education reforms and introducing progressive education in villages. She was also the winner of the seat in the previous 2020 assembly elections, defeating BJP's Dharambir. Atishi's opponents, Lamba and Bidhuri are tough rivals for the seat. Lamba herself is a former AAP member who left the party to join the Congress. Lamba has a focus on women's social and economic empowerment and has also led student union committees. Bidhuri on the other hand is a prominent figure from South Delhi who served as an MP twice representing the area. Bidhuri also has won the Tuglakbad seat thrice in the past under the BJP's symbol and thus has good experience which will definitely be used by him against Atishi and Lamba in the coming elections. 4. Malviya Nagar: Somnath Bharti v Satish Upadhyay v Jitendra Kumar Kochar The Malviya Nagar constituency will see AAP candidate Somnath Bharti contest the elections for the seat once again, winning the last 3 elections with an impressive lead over his competitors. Bharti won the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections with more than 50% of the vote share. The seat will also be contested by BJP's Satish Upadhyay, along with the Congress' Jitendra Kumar Kochar. Upadhyay is a strong contender with experience of successful terms as the Chairman of the Education Committee of the SDMC for two terms, and is also considered a man working for the people. Bharti, the most likely favoured candidate, however, has the backing of winning 3 consequent elections along with his activism for the citizens. He was also appointed Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee by the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Bharti also has experience as a lawyer and will use that to tip the scales in his favour. 5. Rohini: Pradeep Mittal vs Vijender Gupta The Rohini seat sees a fierce rivalry between the AAP and the BJP. In the 2013 and 2015 elections, the winning margin was close to only 5000 votes between the two parties. BJP's 2-time winner (2015 and 2020) Vijender Gupta will run for the seat a 3rd time against AAP candidate Pradeep Mittal. Gupta won the seat against AAP's Rajesh Nama 'Bansiwala' in the 2020 elections by more than 12,000 votes. Gupta has been a prominent figure in the Rohini area, and he shaped Rohini as a model municipal unit. Gupta also enjoys a heavy backing from his party - the BJP - having been appointed as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly in April 2015. Mittal will be a new candidate for the seat and has a tough battle in front of him. The AAP candidate is likely to focus on gaps and inefficiencies in the governance of his opponent to sway voters towards him instead. 6. Okhla: Amanatullah Khan vs TBA The Okhla constituency will be contested by Amanatullah Khan from the Aam Aadmi Party for the 3rd consecutive time. The candidates from the opposition parties - the BJP and the INC - have not been revealed yet. Khan in 2020 as well as 2015 defeated BJP Candidate Braham Singh with a margin of more 60,000 votes each time. Khan has been a vocal figure in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, and there have been a number of attempts to frame the politician and arrest him. However, Khan himself has also been part of a number of controversies that have led to his arrest in some cases. Nevertheless, going off the candidate's past victories and following, it is likely we will see him win for a third time. 7. Patparganj: Awadh Ojha vs Ravinder Singh Negi vs Anil Chaudhary The Patparganj constituency has been experiencing AAP victories for the past 3 elections under party veteran Manish Sisodia. This year however, the party has put up teacher-turned-politician Awadh Ojha as its candidate against BJP's Ravinder Singh Negi and the Congress' Anil Chaudhary. Before the AAP, it was the Congress that dominated the constituency from 1998 to 2013. Chaudhary himself won the seat in the 2008 election, that too by a sliver of 663 votes. In the 2020 elections, the major contest was between the AAP and BJP only as the INC was sidelined, gaining a meagre vote share of less than 2%. BJP's Negi has performed quite well against Sisodia in the past and would be planning to use his experience against the new candidate to the seat. Ojha however has the support of the party's long term standing in the constituency and will leverage it for an AAP victory for the fourth consecutive time. Similarly, Chaudhary will also use the Congress' impressive history to attempt to carve a way for the party's return. 8. Shakur Basti: Satyendra Jain vs Satish Luthra The Shakur Basti constituency seat has been won by AAP's senior leader Satyendra Jain for the past 3 elections, and Jain will be contesting this seat again for the 4th time. Jain will be opposed by the Congress candidate Satish Luthra. Jain has become quite popular in the constituency, seen through the gradual increase in his vote share in the past three elections. Jain won the 2020 elections with a vote share above 50%. Jain, who was behind the bars for over 18 months in relation to a Rs 4.8-crore money laundering case lodged by the ED, walked out of Tihar jail on October 18. 9. Patel Nagar: Pravesh Ratan vs Raaj Kumar Anand The Patel Nagar Constituency is an interesting case due to the party switch-ups between this election and the last. AAP has had a strong hold on Patel Nagar since the 2013 elections, however, the candidate that won the last election for the AAP, Raaj Kumar Anand, will be fighting again this year, but from the BJP side. And his opponent, Pravesh Ratan, who fought him from the BJP side in the 2020 elections, will face him as the AAP candidate this election. This unique battle will be a point of observation to see if this time round the voters take the side of the candidate who they made win last time, or rather the party they made win. Notably, AAP has won the last three assembly elections in the Patel Nagar constituency, but all of them were won under different candidates each time. 10. Rajinder Nagar: Durgesh Pathak vs Vineet Yadav In the 2025 elections, the AAP will contest the Rajinder Nagar seat through senior party member Durgesh Pathak, who won the 2022 by-elections for the constituency. The Rajinder Nagar seat in the 2020 elections was won by current Rajya Sabha MP, Raghav Chadha. The opposition candidate is Vineet Yadav from the INC. Pathak, being a senior member of the party has a lot of experience under his belt. He also serves as a senior member in the political affairs committee and is the National Executive In-Charge of the Aam Aadmi Party. Pathak is also a trusty aide of party leader Arvind Kejriwal, thus the chances of him winning in the constituency are definitely present. 11. Greater Kailash: Saurabh Bharadwaj vs Garvit Singhvi The Greater Kailash constituency will see the fourth consecutive candidacy of the winner of the previous three elections, Saurabh Bharadwaj. He will be opposed by Congress candidate Garvit Singhvi. Bharadwaj has won the past two elections with a vote share north of 50%. Bharadwaj, the chief spokesperson for the Delhi Unit of the Aam Aadmi Party, has been a key member of AAP for some time now. His environmental efforts and urban initiatives find a resonating place within the voters in the constituency. The candidate would be aiming for his fourth victory this election. 12. Shahdara: Jitender Singh Shunty vs TBA The Shahdara constituency is another where in recent times the AAP has acquired a stronghold. The candidate this time from the AAP is Jitender Singh Shunty, taking over from the previous winner Ram Nivas Goel. Shunty, 62, had won from Shahdara on the BJP’s ticket in the 2013 Delhi polls. The AAP is now set to field him from the same constituency in place of Goel in the Assembly polls slated for February 2025. Apart from his political stint, Shunty has been a social activist. He is dubbed the “Ambulance Man” of Delhi for his role in ensuring the cremation of dead bodies during the Covid pandemic. He helps people by providing them with emergency ambulance services. He has also made his mark in the blood donation campaign, donating blood himself for about 100 times. This article has been written by Rohan Sreen, an intern with the Indian Express Online
