Lok Sabha elections 2024: South Delhi — Know your constituency and candidates

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri of the BJP is contesting the South Delhi seat in place of sitting MP Ramesh Bidhuri. Who is he up against?

About the constituency

Established in 1966, South Delhi Constituency is Delhi’s fourth largest constituency in terms of number of voters and is made up of Bijwasan, Palam, Mehrauli, Chhatarpur, Deoli (SC), Ambedkar Nagar (SC), Sangam Vihar, Kalkaji, Tughlakabad and Badarpur. The villages are largely dominated by the Gujjar community. It’s an upmarket area and is often referred to as the financial capital of the state.

As of January 2024, the constituency had around 22.21 lakh voters, including roughly 12.34 lakh men and 9.86 lakh women, many of whom live in the urban villages or unauthorised colonies.

This constituency had BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri and AAP candidate Raghav Chadha contest elections in 2019. Ramesh Bidhuri won this seat bagging a little above 56.5% of the total number of votes polled. 

In the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP has given a ticket to Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, an MLA from the Badarpur Assembly segment and the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly while AAP has nominated Sahi Ram Pehalwan, a two-time MLA from Tughlakabad and a Gujjar leader.

Map of the Constituency

South Delhi PC Constituency. Source: OpenCity

Find your polling booth

Use your EPIC number in the voter ID cards to find the booth information here.

Past election results

2019CandidateSexPartyVotes receivedVote Share (%)
1Ramesh BidhuriMBJP68701456.6%
2Raghav ChadhaMAAP31997126.3%
3Vijender SinghMINC16461313.6%
Source: CEO Delhi

Incumbent MP: Ramesh Bidhuri, BJP

NameRamesh Bidhuri
DOB18-July-1961
Political PartyBharatiya Janata Party
Educational QualificationB.Com., LL.B. Educated at Delhi University and Ch. Charan Singh University
ProfessionAdvocate, Business person, Farmer, Social Worker
Emailramesh.bidhuri@sansad.nic.in
rameshbidhuri@yahoo.in
Contact Number(011) 26054499, 09811039678 (M)
Address179, Sunpat House,
Village-Tughlakabad,
(Entry M.B. Road Side) New Delhi-110044
Source: Lok Sabha

Online presence

Criminal cases

According to the affidavit that Ramesh Bidhuri filed in 2019, he had two criminal cases against him. Following are the charges against him in these cases

  • Charges related to Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt (IPC Section-323)
  • 1 charge related to Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention (IPC Section-34)
  • 1 charge related to Punishment for Defamation (IPC Section-500)
  • 1 charge related to Sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter (IPC Section-502)

Source: MyNeta

Positions held

17th Lok Sabha– Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (2019 onwards)
– Member, General Purposes Committee, Lok Sabha (2019 onwards)
– Chairperson, Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas (2019 onwards)
– Member, Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes (2019 onwards)
– Member, Advisory Council, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) (2019 onwards)
16th Lok SabhaMember, Committee on Estimates (2017 – 2019)
Member, National Social Security Board (2017 – 2019)
Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Labour and Employment (2017 – 2019)
Member, Standing Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes (2014 – 2019)
Member, Standing Committee on Urban Development
2003 – 2014Member, Legislative Assembly, National Capital Territory of Delhi
2014 onwards Member, AIIMS, Governing Body
Source: Lok Sabha

Performance in Parliament

MPAttendanceNo of Debates No of questionsPrivate member’s bills
Ramesh Bidhuri94%741882
National average 79%46.72101.5
State average80%361832.5
Source: PRS

Ramesh Bidhuri has done very well with an overall 94% attendance rate compared to the national average of 79% and state average of 80%. In six sessions of parliament with the most recent session being the Budget session of 2024, he achieved 100% attendance.

With regard to the debates he has participated in, the number stands at 74 while the number of questions asked was a remarkable 188, slightly higher than the state average of 183 questions. He also initiated 2 private member bills in parliament. 

The debates he participated in were on varying subjects some of which are listed below:

  • Regarding stray dogs menace in Delhi
  • Regarding alleged corruption by ministers in Delhi and Punjab
  • The Compulsory Voting Bill, 2019
  • Regarding alleged shoddy construction of sewer lines in Palam and Sadhnagar area in Delhi
  • Discussion on climate change
  • Regarding certain colonies of Delhi facing the threat of demolition

In terms of questions asked, the list of topics includes:

  • Promotion of FPOs
  • Basic Amenities in Tribal Regions
  • Promoting Bio-Fertilizers
  • Pollution in Yamuna River
  • Misleading Advertisements

Read more: Editorial: Delhi air alert — Breathing is seriously injurious to your health


MPLAD funds utilisation**

Cumulative works recommended by MPRs 23.12 crore
Amount sanctionedRs 17.06 crore
Expenditure incurredRs 5.89 crore
Source: MPLADS

Candidates contesting in 2024

Of the 36 candidates, 27 have been accepted, 7 rejected and 2 withdrew their nominations.

Abdul Basit, Male, 45
Party: Bahujan Samaj Party
Education: Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 1,81,68,589
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Male, 71
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Education: Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 1
Total assets: Rs 52,64,19,941
Total liabilities: Rs 10,00,000
Click here for affidavit
Sahi Ram, Male, 63
Party: Aam Aadmi Party
Education: 10th Pass
Pending criminal cases: 2
Total assets: Rs 1,37,80,459
Total liabilities: Rs 3,20,469
Click here for affidavit
Omaprakash, Male, 33
Party: Samaj Vikas Kranti Party
Education: Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 1,26,65,461
Total liabilities: Rs 27,00,000
Click here for affidavit
Gautam Anand, Male, 51
Party: All India Forward Bloc
Education: Post Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 1,68,40,100
Total liabilities: Rs 21,50,000
Click here for affidavit
Naveen Kumar, Male, 36
Party: Hamara Sahi Vikalp Party
Education: Illiterate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 4,60,327
Total liabilities: Rs 3,70,796
Click here for affidavit
Bihari Lal Jaladhari, Male, 62
Party: India Greens Party
Education: Doctorate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 62,50,000
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Bhim Singh, Male, 63
Party: Ambedkarite Party of India
Education: 12th Pass
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 35,25,295
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Ram Gopal, Male, 50
Party: Haryana Jansena Party
Education: 12th Pass
Pending criminal cases: 1
Total assets: Rs 76,09,791
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Rinki Sanyal, Female, 49
Party: Bharatiya Sampuran Krantikari Party
Education: Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 10,67,78,000
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Lakhan Singh, Male, 53
Party: Navarang Congress Party
Education: 10th pass
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 3,27,000
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Surjeet Singh, Male, 40
Party: Delhi Janta Party
Education: 12th Pass
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 19,35,947
Total liabilities: Rs 5,58,495
Click here for affidavit
Surinder Kumar, Male, 68
Party: Bharatheeya Jawan Kisan Party
Education: 12th Pass
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 1,08,09,941
Total liabilities: Rs 1,98,241
Click here for affidavit
Arun Kumar, Male, 44
Independent candidate
Education: Post Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 22,58,222
Total liabilities: Rs 3,90,000
Click here for affidavit
Kamlesh Kumar Jha, Male, 44
Independent candidate
Education: Post Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 60,54,122
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Chandrashekhar Singh Kushwaha, Male, 44
Independent candidate
Education: Post Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 60,54,122
Total liabilities: Rs 23,07,500
Click here for affidavit
Kamlesh Kumar Jha, Male, 44
Independent candidate
Education: Post Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 60,54,122
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Deepak Kapila, Male, 61
Independent candidate
Education: Graduate Professional
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 2,45,64,085
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Poonam Srivastava, Female, 57
Independent candidate
Education: Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 3,67,66,464
Total liabilities: Rs 1,42,000
Click here for affidavit
Ranjan Singh, Male, 26
Independent Candidate
Education: NA
Pending criminal cases:0
Total assets: Rs 15,10,382
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Virender, Male, 27
Independent Candidate
Education: Graduate
Pending criminal cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 14,000
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Shankar Dey, Male, 62
Independent Candidate
Education: Post Graduate
Pending Criminal Cases: 0
Total assets: Rs 1,45,58,918
Total liabilities: Nil
Click here for affidavit
Sources: eci.gov.in, myneta.info

Key candidates in the news

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri started his political career in the 1970s by joining the BJP’s student wing, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), from Haryana. Following this, he joined Congress and worked with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 1993, when the first elections for the Delhi assembly happened, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri contested on a Janata Dal ticket and got elected. 

While filing his nomination as a BJP candidate, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri revealed that a total of 69 colonies will be regularised and the areas of South Delhi which don’t have metro connectivity will be brought under it. His main focus would be to build schools, parks, stadiums and hospitals on the government lands which are vacant in villages and colonies of Delhi. In an interview with The Statesman, he maintained that the BJP had kept all its promises with the construction of the Ram temple, new Parliament building, Chandrayaan-3, the G20 summit, introduction of the Women Reservation Bill and India becoming the 5th largest economy. 

Sahiram Pehalwan is currently the AAP’s MLA from Tughlakabad and a first-time Lok Sabha candidate. He started his political career as a councillor in 2007 on a BSP ticket and again got elected as a councillor from the same party in 2012. In 2014, Pehlawan was made deputy Mayor of the erstwhile South MCD, and then left the BSP to contest for the Tughlakabad assembly as an AAP candidate.

In an interview with TOI, he stated that South Delhi is in need of a hospital, more schools  and given people’s interest in sports, more stadiums need to come up in different areas. Furthermore, unauthorised colonies should be regularised and encroachment stopped. 

In another interview with Millennium Post, he mentioned that improving road infra & addressing water supply concerns are his top priorities for South Delhi Constituency.

Issues of the constituency

Residents of South Delhi constituency have a number of grievances related to road congestion and water supply to infrastructure development, govt subsidies and protection from demolitions. One resident categorically mentioned that air pollution needs to be tackled in the state. 

** Figures for MPLAD funds utilisation have been updated based on latest figures available.

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