NEW DELHI: The BJP swept all 10 Jat-dominated constituencies in Delhi into its kitty, capturing territory that they did not have in the last two elections.
Party officials attributed the strong Jat support for the BJP to several factors, particularly the party’s focus on addressing rural problems and its willingness to give tickets to several Jat functionaries.
A senior BJP functionary said that there were several problems in Jat-dominated areas, such as registries, a crumbling civic infrastructure, and a need for better connectivity. “Through DDA and with the support of the lieutenant governor, some work was done. The Jats realised that central govt assistance could play a key role in their development, which was not happening,” the BJP source said.
Days before the elections, the representatives from all 360 villages of Delhi declared their backing for BJP. Their decision stemmed from a general dissatisfaction with Delhi govt for its failure to resolve issues affecting rural communities.
Another BJP functionary said that giving a ticket to Parvesh Verma also helped, as it led to the consolidation of the community, especially the youth, in BJP’s favour.
He said the bitter political confrontation, when AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal called Verma a traitor for giving money to women through his NGO before the model code of conduct kicked in, also did not help AAP. “When Kejriwal made personal statements targeting Parvesh Verma through his press briefings, he often made it a Jat issue as well,” the BJP functionary said.
Also, when Verma was pitched against Kejriwal, it made the contest a battle of personalities, which led to a strong Jat backing for BJP. The BJP also swept outer Delhi seats, which were once the stronghold of his father and former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma.
Another functionary said that having senior Jat functionaries contesting the polls helped in different ways. When AAP raised the issue of Jat reservation, these functionaries were quick to respond that if the party was serious then it should have first brought the proposal in the Vidhan Sabha when it was ruling, but it never did. “The voices got amplified,” he said.
Paramjeet Sejwal, who lives in Lado Sarai, said: “There were several reasons for the BJP’s gain. The crumbling infrastructure when not much was happening on the development front was one. Second, people in the community saw leaders such as Kailash Gahlot leaving. Also, the INDIA bloc did not give any ticket to people from the Jat community. So, these factors started consolidating after a point.”
In Lado Sarai, which is part of the Jat-influenced seat of Mehrauli, Gajendra Yadav of BJP won by 1,786 votes. The margins in other seats were larger. In the Jat-dominated seat of Najafgarh, Neelam Pahalwan of BJP won by 29,009 votes against Tarun Kumar of AAP. Last time, AAP got 72,699 votes in this seat.
Gahlot, a former AAP govt minister who switched sides before the polls, won by 11,276 votes against Surendra Bharadwaj of AAP.
In the Palam constituency, a key seat where Jats are in significant numbers, Kuldeep Solanki of BJP won by a margin of 8,952 votes against Joginder Solanki of AAP. The AAP polled 73,094 votes in this seat.
In Nangloi Jat, Manoj Kumar Shokeen of BJP won against Raghuvinder Shokeen of AAP by a margin of 26,251 votes. The party won Narela by 8,596 votes, Rithala by 29,616, Mundka by 10,550 and Nangloi Jat by 26,251. In Vikaspuri, Matiala and Palam also , BJP got good winning margins.
