NEW DELHI: With three Muslim-dominated seats — Mustafabad, Seelampur and Gokalpur — recording strong voter participation on February 5, the AAP hopes to retain these constituencies.
Among the top five assembly constituencies that witnessed high turnouts, four were from northeast Delhi. Mustafabad registered the highest turnout at 69%, closely followed by Seelampur with 68.7%. In the third place was the reserved constituency of Gokalpur, with 68.3%, followed by Babarpur at 66%.
The Mustafabad constituency, which witnessed communal riots in 2020, is set for a high-stakes contest in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. Unlike the traditional two-party fight between the AAP and the BJP, Mustafabad features a four-way battle with a veteran leader, a political scion, a journalist-turned-politician, and a controversial undertrial in the fray.
Meanwhile, in Seelampur, it is Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad from AAP, Anil Gaur from BJP and ex-AAP leader Abdul Rahman from Congress.
Going by the previous year’s election figures, Mustafabad, Seelampur and Gokalpur have always been among the top performers when it comes to voting in both Lok Sabha and assembly polls.
While Seelampur recorded the highest voter turnout in 2020 at 71.4%, Mustafabad was a close second with 70.5%. In the 2015 election, Gokalpur was the top performer with a 74.2% turnout, Seelampur recorded 71.8% and Mustafabad witnessed 70.9% of electors casting their votes.
Dr Javed Akhtar from Babarpur said, “It is a wrong notion that Muslims don’t vote. The numbers give a very clear picture, indicating that Muslim-dominated areas have voted in good numbers. And, it has been like this for the past so many years now.”
Similarly, a tailor from the Matia Mahal constituency, Zahida, said, “I feel proud at least we are actively participating in this democratic festival because it is the voter who wants the change. Even though these areas have done really well in terms of voter turnout, it is disappointing to see how the total voter turnout declined from the past elections. The VIPs don’t come out and vote, and half of the youngsters don’t vote.”