Ahead of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections on 23 April, political parties are going all out to woo Poorvanchali voters. With an approximate strength of 40 lakh, Poorvanchali voters hold the key in nearly 100 municipal wards of Delhi, and the changing demographic profile of the national capital has forced political parties to woo them.
Large-scale migration to the city has changed the voters’ composition as most of the Poorvanchali voters reside in trans-Yamuna areas and at the periphery of the city. The change in the composition of the electorate has compelled the parties to rework their poll strategy. All the major political parties—the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party —are eyeing the Poorvanchalis as their vote bank. Poorvanchalis, migrants from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, constitute nearly one-third of the total voters in the capital. They also form nearly 35% of Delhi’s population.
The Poorvanchalis, who were earlier dominant in the municipal wards in east and north-east Delhi, now also form a major vote bank in west and south west Delhi that are dominated by Punjabi, Jats and Khatris.
The areas with a strong presence of Poorvanchalis include Burari, Kirari, Sangam Vihar, Patparganj, Vikaspuri, Uttam Nagar, Ghonda, Badli, Matiala, Dwarka, Palam, Badarpur, Laxmi Nagar, Seemapuri, Karawal Nagar, Rithala, Rajender Nagar, Nangloi, Mangolpuri and Shahdara, among others. Earlier, Jats, Punjabi, Khatris and the Brahmins dominated politics in Delhi for several decades.
Harish Khurana, BJP spokesperson, said: “Poorvanchalis form 35% of Delhi’s population and by fielding 37 candidates from this community, our party has given a fair representation to them. Also, we have appointed Manoj Tiwari, a famous Bhojpuri cine-star, as the Delhi BJP chief.”
Khurana added: “However, our party doesn’t promote casteism or regionalism for political gains, but Poorvanchali voters deserve a fair representation.”
Eyeing the Poorvanchali vote pie and sensing stiff contest for it, the AAP has fielded 36 Poorvanchali candidates for the forthcoming civic polls. AAP has 12 Poorvanchali legislators in the Delhi Assembly.
The Congress has fielded 54 Poorvanchali candidates.
Largely concentrated in the unauthorised colonies and JJ clusters, the Poorvanchalis have traditionally been Congress supporters until the advent of the AAP.
Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee said: “The Congress has a long association with the Poorvanchali voters and to regain our old core voters, we have given tickets to 54 candidates in the MCD polls.”
In the 2012 local body elections, the BJP had fielded 18 candidates from Poorvanchal, out of which 12 won the elections.
The Congress, on the other hand, gave four tickets to the community and managed to grab just one seat. The BJP’s Annapurna Mishra, a Poorvanchali, also went on to become the first Mayor of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation.