About the constituency
Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency is one of the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in the Indian National Capital Territory of Delhi. This constituency came into existence in 1956. It is the smallest constituency of Lok Sabha in terms of area.
Since the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies in 2008, it is made up of ten assembly constituencies, which are Adarsh Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, Shakur Basti, Tri Nagar, Wazirpur, Model Town, Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal and Ballimaran. The assembly constituencies are scattered across North Delhi, North West Delhi and Central Delhi, all which are currently under the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
As of 2024, the constituency saw around 16.09 lakh voters, including around 8.66 lakh men and 7.43 lakh women.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Dr. Harsh Vardhan from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the seat by securing 52.9% of the total votes polled. He defeated Jai Prakash Agarwal of the Indian National Congress (INC), who came second by securing 29.6% of the total votes, by a margin of 2,28,145 votes.
For 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, of 25 contesting candidates, Praveen Khandelwal from the BJP Party is contesting against Jai Prakash Agarwal from INC.
Map of the Constituency
Find your polling booth
Use your EPIC number in the voter id cards to find the booth information here.
Incumbent MP: Harsh Vardhan, BJP
| Name | Dr Harsh Vardhan |
| Age | 70 years |
| Political Party | BJP |
| Educational Qualification | Post GraduateMS (ENT) , MBBS From G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kapur UP in 1979 |
| Profession | Medical Practitioner, Consultant E.N.T. Surgeon |
| Enrolled as Voter in | 03 East Delhi (Delhi) constituency, at Serial no 212 in Part no 88 |
| drhrshvardhan@gmail.com | |
| Contact Number | 9810115311 |
| Address | E-8A/14, Krishna Nagar, Delhi – 110051 |
Online Presence
- Website: https://www.drharshvardhan.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drharshvardhanofficial/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drharshvardhanofficial/
- X: https://x.com/drharshvardhan
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrHarshVardhanOfficial
Criminal Cases
Dr Harsh Vardhan has no record of criminal cases against him, according to his affidavit filed in the 2019 elections.
Source: myneta.info
Positions Held
- September 2021 onwards: Member, Standing Committee on External Affairs
- May 2019 – July 2021: Union Cabinet Minister, Health and Family Welfare; Ministry of Science and Technology; and Ministry of Earth Sciences
- May 2019: Re-elected to 17th Lok Sabha (2nd term)
- May 2017 – May 2019: Union Cabinet Minister, Environment, Forest and Climate Change
- Nov. 2014 – May 2019: Union Cabinet Minister, Science and Technology; and Earth Sciences
- May 2014 – Nov. 2014: Union Cabinet Minister, Health and Family Welfare
- May 2014: Elected to 16th Lok Sabha
- 1993 – 1998: Minister of Health, Education, Law & Justice & Legislative Affairs, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
- 1993 – 2014: Member, Delhi Legislative Assembly (Five Terms)
Source: sansad.in
Performance in Parliament
| MP | Attendance | No of Debates participated | No of questions asked | Private Member’s Bill |
| Dr. Harsh Vardhan | 96% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| National average | 79% | 22.3 | 133 | 1.2 |
| State average | 80% | 15 | 94 | 1.7 |
Dr. Harsh Vardhan has excellent attendance in the parliament with 96%. National average is 79% and the state average is 80%. He has 100% attendance in seven sessions, Monsoon session 2021- 22- 23, Winter session 2022- 23, Budget session 2023, and Special session 2023. His lowest attendance has been 83% in the Winter session 2021.
This MP was a minister from May 30, 2019 to July 07, 2021. Ministers represent the government in debates, so their participation is not reported for the period.
Read more: Lok Sabha 2024: Parties push guarantees, as Delhi voters look beyond local issues
MPLAD funds
| Recommended amount | Rs 25.9 crore |
| Utilised amount | Rs 7.9 crore |
| Total Works recommended | 530 |
| Works completed | 382 |
Candidates contesting in 2024
Of the 38 accepted candidates, 25 are contesting, 13 rejected and 1 withdrew their nominations.
| Abul Kalam Azad, Male, 48 Party: BSP Education: Graduate Professional Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 93,69,380 Total liabilities: Rs 10,44,407 |
| Ashok Kumar Gupta, Male, 64 Party: IND Education: 12th Pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 8,49,773 Total liabilities: Rs 3,50,000 |
| Guljar Singh, Male, 63 Party: Peoples Party of India (Democratic) Education: Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 1,03,61,237 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Heena, Female, 30 Party: Public Political Party Education: 8th Pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 30,924 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Jai Prakash Agarwal, Male, 79 Party: INC Education: Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 13,33,71,081 Total liabilities: Rs 50,97,922 |
| Manoj Kumar Nigam, Male, 55 Party: Akhil Bhartiya Sudhar Party Education: Post Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 1,54,19,411 Total liabilities: Rs 10,00,000 |
| Md Nazir, Male, 50 Party: Aman Samaj Party Education: 5th pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 68,36,565 Total liabilities: Rs 4,00,000 |
| Mohd Hamid, Male, 42 Party: Bharatheeya Jawan Kisan Party Education: 5th pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 1,70,084 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Praveen Khandelwal, Male, 64 Party: BJP Education: Graduate Professional Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 11,70,39,798 Total liabilities: Rs 6,06,45,587 |
| Pyush Narula, Male, 46 Party: IND Education: 12th pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 19,26,05,318 Total liabilities: 7,55,00,000 |
| Rahul Sharma, Male, 53 Party: Rashtriya Mangalam Party Education: Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 4,72,876 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Rajesh Gupta, Male, 66 Party: Bharat Lok Sewak Party Education: Others Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 4,87,72,388 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Ritu Kaushik, Female, 45 Party: SUCI(C) Education: Post Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 13,30,272 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Sameer Mirza, Male, 34 Party: Rashtriya Republican Party Education: 12th Pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 1,65,000 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Satya Dev Chaudhary, Male, 72 Party: Satya Bahumat Party Education: Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 9,02,90,184 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Seema Rizvi, Female, 41 Party: Azad Samaj Party Education: 8th Pass Pending criminal cases: 1 Total assets: Rs 77,000 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Shaik Jaleel, Male, 49 Party: Navarang Congress Party Education: 5th Pass Pending criminal cases: 6 Total assets: Rs 8,70,11,546 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Shivam Saini, Male, 28 Party: Right to Recall Party Education: Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 80,000 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Shyam Bharteey, Male, 54 Party: Gareeb Aadmi Party Education: 12th Pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 4,09,72,607 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Soharsh Gulgulia Jain, Male, 37 Party: Swaraj Bhartiya Nyay Party Education: Post Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 1,30,96,893 Total liabilities: Rs 25,50,000 |
| Subhash Chander, Male, 67 Party: IND Education: 12th pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 4,18,65,000 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Sunil Kumar, Male, 49 Party: IND Education: Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 60,85,000 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Umesh Rathor, Male, 54 Party: Atulya Bharat Party Education: 10th pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 38,000 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Vinod Kumar Gupta, Male, 48 Party: Akhil Bhartiya Parivar Party Education: Graduate Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 1,33,34,286 Total liabilities: Nil |
| Yogender Singh, Male, 48 Party: Bharatiya Liberal Party Education: 10th pass Pending criminal cases: 0 Total assets: Rs 3,03,22,842 Total liabilities: Nil |
Key Candidates in the news
Praveen Khandelwal, BJP candidate from Chandni Chowk Constituency, is a Delhi-based businessman who began his political career in 2017 when he was nominated to be a part of the government’s GST panel. The constituency overwhelmingly represents trade and business which could aid Khandelwal. He replaces Dr. Harshvardhan, a long-time BJP member who recently announced retirement from political life, as the candidate. Khandelwal points out that his experience as a businessman can be seen in his work in Ladakh, where there are 48 trader associations.
Opening a multi-specialty hospital in his constituency, supporting new start-ups by setting up incubation centres and creating recreational hubs for senior citizens will be some of the priorities of Khandelwal. He plans to develop the constituency as a model, balancing development with preservation of its rich history and culture, which he claims has been ‘grossly neglected’ by the state government. He promises to establish trade associations to develop markets and resident welfare associations. He claims that this will act as a catalyst, making these groups partners in development, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of participatory governance.
Jai Prakash Agarwal was a member of the Parliament of India who had represented North East Delhi and Chandni Chowk in Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament and Delhi in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament. Aggarwal of the Congress has been a member of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Shunning large rallies and a string of roadshows, the INDIA bloc’s Chandni Chowk candidate has adopted a different campaign style for the Lok Sabha elections: small trips to the homes of those who invite him, where people from the neighbourhood congregate to hear him speak. During each such visit, Agarwal handed out pamphlets of the 898 questions, from crumbling school buildings, modernising police forces, the sewer system in Delhi, he had asked during his multiple parliamentary tenures. He assures that he always held ministers accountable.
Agarwal has alleged that no progress has been made in the area and “there has been a complete blackout for 10 years.” He claimed the people of the constituency face several issues but not a single question has been raised in the Parliament which was related to the people of the area or the traders.
Issues of the constituency
Water pipeline leakage and water logging issue is plaguing Adarsh Nagar Assembly constituency, and Efforts are underway as announced by Delhi Jal Board (DJB). A video showed a group of miscreants in Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar area throwing petrol bombs at a residential property. The footage shows people with covered faces launching the assault, with one person firing shots into the air, while others threw petrol bombs at the house. Police suspect that the attack was the result of a conflict between two gangs in the area.
Water supply to several areas of the national capital, including parts of North, Central, East and South Delhi, will be affected after three water treatment plants (WTPs) were shut down because of the raging waters of the Yamuna. Water to the treatment plant goes from Wazirabad pond and the plants have been shut down due to flooding. Supply will be affected 100% in the constituencies of Narela, Burari, Timarpur, Adarsh Nagar, Badli, Model Town, Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal, Ballimaran, Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Tughlaqabad and Sangam Vihar.
Additionally, DJB also warned in late February that the water supply will be available at low pressure due to high levels of pollutants being received in Yamuna River at Wazirabad pond. The Resident Welfare Association presidents have alleged that despite making several complaints in the past, no action has been taken by the Delhi Jal Board to resolve the issue.
A plea was filed in National Green Tribunal last year against the discharge of sewage from the jhuggi cluster to open green areas in Shalimar Bagh. The tribunal had earlier constituted a joint committee of Delhi Pollution Commission Committee (DSCC), DJB and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (Dusib) to look into the matter. It had asked the committee to ensure compliance with the Solid Waste Management, 2016 and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
Ballimaran, one of the oldest colonies of Old Delhi, has transformed into a wholesale market, which has converted it into garbage heavy and congested streets. The narrow congested bylanes, lack of streetlights in the evening, and overhead power cables are synonymous to Ballimaran as per the local traders who have been staying in the area for over 40 years. In the slums of Shakur Basti, one of the biggest concerns revolve around the lack of basic amenities and fear of being rendered homeless.
The redeveloped Chandni Chowk continues to face issues such as unregulated rickshaws, constricted footpaths, closed public facilities and violations of traffic rules. Despite orders for repairs, problems persist. The redevelopment was planned to reinforce safe pedestrian movement, which itself has been impacted since the redevelopment.
Each neighbourhood in the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency has its own set of issues, from the insecurity of the heritage character of localities like Sadar Bazar, Matia Mahal and Chawri Bazar being diminished and deteriorating law and order in middle-class areas like Model Town, Kamla Nagar and Shalimar Bagh to the struggle for water and sanitation in the slums.