BJP and AAP lead in key strongholds in battle for Delhi

The BJP has established commanding leads in northeast and east Delhi seats such as Mustafabad, Karawal Nagar, Vishwas Nagar, and Patparganj

NEW DELHI: The contest for key seats in the Delhi elections showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have managed to maintain strong leads in their respective strongholds, according to Election Commission of India (ECI) data as of 11am.

New Delhi: Security personnel at a counting centre for Delhi Assembly elections (PTI)

The BJP, meanwhile, had established commanding leads in northeast and east Delhi seats such as Mustafabad, Karawal Nagar, Vishwas Nagar, and Patparganj, while the AAP is faring well in Muslim-majority constituencies like Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Okhla, and Seelampur, early trends show.

In the most decisive lead as of 11 am, BJP’s Mohan Singh Bisht was ahead of AAP’s Adeel Ahmad Khan by over 36,000 votes in Mustafabad, a constituency that witnessed riots in 2020. In Karawal Nagar, BJP’s Kapil Mishra led Manoj Kumar Tyagi by more than 20,000 votes, while in Vishwas Nagar — another BJP stronghold — Om Prakash Sharma was ahead of AAP’s Deepak Singhal by over 12,000 votes.

In Patparganj, BJP’s Ravinder Negi was leading AAP’s Avadh Ojha by more than 10,000 votes at 11am, according to ECI data, while in Bijwasan, BJP’s Kailash Gahlot had a 3,000-vote advantage over AAP’s Surender Bhardwaj.

The AAP, meanwhile, held comfortable leads in a handful of key constituencies.

In Ballimaran, AAP’s Imran Hussain led BJP’s Kamal Bagri by 13,000 votes. In Chandni Chowk, AAP’s Punardeep Singh Sawhney was ahead by 11,000 votes, though notably, the second position was held by Congress candidate Mudit Agarwal.

In Okhla, another AAP bastion, Amanatullah Khan led BJP’s Manish Chaudhary by 4,500 votes. In Burari, AAP’s Sanjeev Jha held a 2,800-vote lead over Shailendra Kumar of the Janata Dal (United). Additionally, AAP’s Durgesh Pathan was ahead of BJP’s Umang Bajaj by 2,500 votes, according to ECI data at 11am.