NEW DELHI: Uttam Nagar, a home to unauthorized colonies of mainly thousands of migrants, has been plagued by rising crime rate, chaotic and congested streets, open drains and piles of garbage on the roads.
Despite civic agencies claiming to take action, rampant encroachment has led to the overcrowded nature of the locality, with traffic jams a common feature, especially during the rush hour. Adding to the woes are the street vendors setting up shop on footpaths, forcing pedestrians to walk on the roads.
The locality has also frequently been in the news for its crime. “Petty crimes like theft are barely talked about here as they are quite common. It is the more serious crimes like murder and rape that worry us,” said Shikha Gupta, a resident of Om Vihar.
Another major issue for residents is the complete lack of green spaces in the locality. “There are no parks where my children can play. We can’t even go for a morning or evening walk. We have to travel far if we want to enjoy some greenery,” said Ramesh Chand, a resident of Bhagwati Vihar.
The Uttam Nagar assembly constituency is one of the largest in Delhi with over 2.95 lakh electors. Naresh Balyan from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has represented the constituency since 2015, having unseated former MP Pawan Sharma from the BJP by winning almost 52% of the vote. In 2020, he was re-elected with an increased majority of 54.57%.
The constituency is a part of the West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, which the BJP has won in the past two elections. In Uttam Nagar, the BJP increased its vote share from 51.64% in 2014 to 65.8% in 2019.
For the upcoming election, the BJP has replaced two-time MP Parvesh Verma with Kamaljeet Sehrawat, general secretary of the party’s Delhi unit and a former mayor of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation. She is also a sitting councillor from ward no.120 (Dwarka B) in the MCD and previously contested the Matiala assembly seat in West Delhi.
AAP hopes to reverse its fortunes in the constituency by nominating former Congress MP from the constituency Mahabal Mishra. Seen as a face of the Purvanchali community, Mishra represented the seat from 2009 to 2014. He joined the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the MCD elections in 2022.
The West Delhi and six other constituency will go to polls on May 25 in sixth phase.