Jumbo confident of landing this time

By the time voting to the 69 Assembly seats came to an end on Saturday, the mood in the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) camp was buoyant, reports Atul Mathur.

By the time voting to the 69 Assembly seats came to an end on Saturday, the mood in the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) camp was buoyant. There were celebrations all around as party workers expressed confidence about emerging as a formidable force in Delhi.

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While senior party leaders preferred to remain quiet till the announcement of the election results on December 8, party insiders said they were confident of winning at least five seats in Delhi.

The voting percentage in favour of BSP is also expected to rise to 15 per cent — from 5.76 per cent last time — thus adding a third dimension to the traditional two-party fight in Delhi, claimed Suman Saini, General Secretary of BSP’s Delhi state unit.

“We are sure of winning 5-6 seats in Delhi, especially in east and south Delhi. We will also affect the outcome on more than 25 seats. There has been massive polling in favour of BSP even in areas like Adarsh Nagar and Malviya Nagar, where we were doubtful of any response till Friday,” said Saini.

The Assembly segments on which BSP is pinning its hopes include Badarpur, Sangam Vihar and Chhatarpur in south Delhi, Kondli in east Delhi and Narela in northwest Delhi.

“The voting percentage touched an unprecedented high in areas where the majority of the electorate is either economically weak or belongs to the backward classes: the traditional vote bank of BSP. Over the years, the two major political parties had ignored the interests of these sections. By coming out in large numbers, these sections have shown that they are left with no faith in Congress and BJP, and they want a change now,” said a senior BSP leader who did not wish to be identified.