West Delhi candidates: Former Congress MP faces BJP incumbent, AAP’s lawyer candidate in even fight

The seat is considered a BJP stronghold given the constituency’s large business community in the bridal markets of Rajouri Garden, book markets of Tilak Nagar and the malls dotting Janakpuri.

With inputs from Sri Krishna, Delhi

Created as part of the 2008 delimitation exercise, the West Delhi Parliamentary constituency is comprised of 10 assembly constituencies:. Madipur, Rajouri Garden, Hari Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Janakpuri, Vikaspuri, Uttam Nagar, Dwarka, Matiala and Najafgarh. So far, two Lok Sabha elections held in 2009 and 2014 have seen winners from the Congress and BJP respectively.  

This time, it is an even triangular fight between sitting BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, 41, Mahabal Mishra, 66, of Congress and advocate Balbir Jakhar, 45, of the AAP. The constituency has a large Punjabi and Jat population, many of them traders who have not forgotten the problems they faced from demonetisation.

A total of 23 candidates are contesting from political parties and as independents from West Delhi. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected 36 applications for the constituency for various reasons.

According to the ECI website, the constituency has a total of 23,71, 561 voters.
[flexiblemap src=”http://data.opencity.in/Data/Delhi-Parliament-Constituency-West-Delhi-Map-V-1.kml” width=”100%” height=”400px” ]

Note – Map for representation purpose | Source – http://datameet.org

2014 Lok Sabha Elections

Incumbent MP: Parvesh Verma

Name of candidate Party Votes secured Vote share (over total votes polled)
Parvesh Verma BJP 6,51,395 48.30
Jarnail Singh AAP 3,82,809 28.38
Mahabal Mishra INC 1,93,266 14.33
NOTA 7,932 0.59

Source: ECI

Know your candidates

Parvesh Verma (Bharatiya Janata Party)

Pic: Facebook

Parvesh Verma is the incumbent MP from the BJP. He is seeking reelection from West Delhi. He is the son of BJP leader Sahib Singh Verma, who has served as the Chief Minister of Delhi. Parvesh Verma often invokes his father’s name, saying he had rescued and supported a large number of Sikh families during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Prior to his election to Parliament, Verma has successfully contested the Mehrauli seat in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha. The MP claims he has utilised all his Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme funds for his constituency’s benefit.

More details can be found in the affidavit filed with the ECI here.

To know more about his detailed performance in Parliament, click here.

Financial details of candidate

Year Assets Liabilities
2014 1,82,35,461 (movable) + 8,90,00,000 (immovable) 2,66,50,000
2019 3,21,99,014 (movable) + 12,30,00,000 (immovable) 4,00,97,329

Source: MyNeta, ECI

Mahabal Mishra (Indian National Congress)

Pic: Facebook

Mahabal Mishra is the INC candidate from West Delhi. He served as MP from the constituency between 2009 – 2014. He lost to the BJP’s  Parvesh Verma in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He has also served as an MLA thrice, representing the Narsipur constituency. Prior to this he was an elected corporator from the Dabri ward.

Mishra has promised the setting up of a West Delhi campus, claiming his emphasis would be on developing education facilities. He has also promised to unseal all the closed shops in this constituency if he wins.

More details can be found in the affidavit filed with the ECI here.

Financial details of candidate

Year Assets Liabilities
2014 5,35,76,279 (movable) +32,92,50,000 (immovable) 86,91,613
2019 9,27,21,610 (movable) + 35,80,00,000 (immovable) 28,14,393

Source: MyNeta, ECI

Balbir Singh Jakhar (Aam Aadmi Party)

Pic: Facebook

Balbir Jakhar is the AAP candidate from West Delhi. This is his first foray into electoral politics. A lawyer by profession, Jakhar heads the Dwarka Court Bar Association. He was associated with the India Against Corruption movement by Anna Hazare in 2011.

More details can be found in the affidavit filed with the ECI here.

Financial details of candidate

Year Assets Liabilities
2019 2,06,62,151 (movable) + 1,22,50,000 (immovable) 41,61,197

Source: MyNeta

List of other candidates contesting from West Delhi

S. No Name Party Symbol Age Education Occupation
1 Sita Saran Sen Bahujan Samaj Party Elephant 40 Intermediate Retiree
2 Kulwinder Mehta Pyramid Party of India Pineapple 54 Intermediate Real Estate Agent
3 Janak Raj Rana Akhand Rashtrawadi Party Bricks 58 LLB Advocate
4 Dayanand Vats Republican Party of India Sewing Machine 62 MA Retiree
5 Dharambir Singh Rashtriya Janshakti Party (Secular) Coconut Farm 57 Class X Farmer
6 Poonam Ujjainwal People’s Party of India Fruit Basket 48 BA Home maker
7 Probir Dutta Satya Bahumat Party Black Board 44 MA Journalist
8 Baidyanath Sah Proutist Bloc, India Gas Cylinder 53 LLB Advocate
9 Manmohan Singh Rashtra Nirman Party Pot 58 M.Com Retiree
10 Vikash Mohal Aapki Apni Party Battery Torch 25 Class XII Self-employed
11 Shashi Jeet National Youth Party Tractor 44 Class XII Social Worker
12 Shish Pal Singh Prism Triangle 64 Class VII Retiree
13 Iqbal Singh Independent Auto Rickshaw 45 Class VIII Businessman
14 Navin Das Independent Hockey Ball 69 BA Retiree
15 Pravesh Sharma Independent Pen 36 LLM Advocate
16 Balbir Singh Independent Bat 56 BA Retiree
17 M Mishra Independent Peas 41 LLB Advocate
18 Ramesh Chande Verma Independent Scissors 58 Class VII Businessman
19 Rajiv Kumar Independent Whistle 51 LLB Advocate
20 Harsh Shukla Independent Mic 26 B.Tech Engineer

Issues in the constituency

The seat is considered a BJP stronghold given the constituency’s large business community in the bridal markets of Rajouri Garden, book markets of Tilak Nagar and the malls dotting Janakpuri.

As with most Delhi constituencies, this one too has a few villages in its outskirts, like Najafgarh, where voters are concerned with more mundane and everyday issues like road connectivity, lack of hospitals and crime. As Naveen, a resident of Matiala in the area pointed out, “our women still relieve themselves in the open.”

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