NEW DELHI: Malviya Nagar, situated in South Delhi, is a highly coveted residential area, originally settled by partition refugees from Pakistan. Over time, it has flourished, boasting excellent connectivity via metro and road networks, alongside prominent luxury shopping centers, museums, and hospital.
However, despite its allure, certain segments of the Malviya Nagar constituency remain underdeveloped, such as Hauz Rani, Khirki, Savitri Nagar, and Begumpur. According to local resident Sangeeta Sharma, Hauz Rani has recently witnessed an influx of students and young professionals due to its proximity to the Malviya Nagar metro station. She remarked, “Other colonies in Malviya Nagar are unaffordable, prompting people to settle here. Consequently, we endure severely overcrowded conditions.”
Additionally, Malviya Nagar exhibits an unusual susceptibility to serious crimes, with several murders occurring in recent years. Just last month, four men fatally stabbed a father and son in Prajapati colony. Somnath Bharti of the Aam Aadmi Party has retained the seat since 2013, triumphing in three consecutive assembly elections and progressively expanding his vote share. In 2020, he secured victory over BJP candidate Shailender Singh by nearly 20,000 votes.
Bharti has been nominated as his party’s candidate for the New Delhi parliamentary constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, leveraging his stronghold in Malviya Nagar with confidence. He has pledged to extend his Mohalla WhatsApp groups, currently operational in Malviya Nagar, to encompass all of New Delhi, emphasizing accessibility, accountability, and availability to all constituents.
In the Lok Sabha, Malviya Nagar constitutes part of the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, historically a BJP stronghold, with the party clinching victory in seven of the last ten elections. Despite the BJP’s dominance, having secured substantial victories in the past two elections, they have chosen a new face for the fray. Bansuri Swaraj, a Supreme Court lawyer and daughter of former Union Minister and Sushma Swaraj, has been nominated, signalling a dynamic shift in the electoral landscape.