Babarpur

Babarpur assembly seat in East Delhi is drawing a lot of attention this time in view of speculations that many senior Congress leaders want to contest from here despite the BJP having won it in 1993 and 1998.

Babarpur assembly seat in East Delhi is drawing a lot of attention this time in view of speculations that many senior Congress leaders want to contest from here despite the BJP having won it in 1993 and 1998.

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To begin with, some political observers think that Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit may opt for Babarpur at the last moment although she had made it absolutely clear that she would seek re-election from the Gole Market constituency. Political observers say that Sheila Dikshit's supporters consider Babarpur as the safest proposition.

MCD Standing Committee Chairman Ram Babu Sharma and Youth Congress leader Vinay Sharma are the top contenders for the ticket. Sharma is said to have the caste combination and AICC backing.

Some experts consider the seat as 'very safe' for Congress provided it fields a good candidate with right caste combination. Congress lost the seat in previous elections mainly due to lack of good candidate. Besides this Cong flaw, BJP had also taken advantage of division of votes.

Caste Combination: The caste combination is clearly in favour of a Brahmin candidate. The constituency has 68 per cent Hindu and 32 per cent Muslim votes. But the most effective among the Hindus are the Brahmins who constitute 21 per cent. The balance 47 per cent includes SCs, STs, OBCs, Khatris, Aggarwals, Punjabis, Jats and Sikhs who vote according to personal preferences.

It is felt that if the Congress fields a Brahmin, he would be able to break the BJP jinx. Similarly, he would get en block support of the Muslim community.