Elections 2019: Caste, unauthorised colonies key issues in North-East Delhi

The constituency has the highest concentration of Poorvanchalis, Muslims and migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who play a decisive role during elections.

Business Standard : Caste equations and unauthorised colonies are in focus in the North-East Delhi parliamentary constituency from where political heavyweights - three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit, BJP's Manoj Tiwari and AAP's Dilip Pandey -will try their luck in the May 12 polls.

The constituency has the highest concentration of Poorvanchalis, Muslims and migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who play a decisive role during elections.

Keep Reading : Election 2019

The Congress is confident that its vote bank, be it Muslims, Dalits and low income groups, who had shifted to the AAP in the 2015 Assembly polls, will return to its fold after seeing the Kejriwal party's "failure" in fulfilling its pre-poll promises.

The party has fielded Dikshit, who ruled Delhi for 15 years till 2013, against BJP's incumbent MP and party's Delhi unit president Tiwari and Aam Aadmi Party's Dilip Pandey who is making debut in this election.

Pandey is also former AAP's Delhi unit convenor.The constituency has around 23 per cent Muslims, concentrated largely in Mustafabad, Seelampur and Ghonda assembly segments.

There are about 1.43 crore voters in the national capital which send seven members to Parliament. The city goes to polls on May 12.

According to the chief electoral office, there are around 22.89 lakh voters in the North-East Lok Sabha constituency, and of these,nearly 12.52 lakh are male voters while there are over 10.37 lakh female voters.

In the constituency, there are also some sections of people who appreciate the AAP government's works in education and health sectors in the national capital.

Development in unauthorised colonies, bad roads and poor quality of water are also some poll issues on which basis people want to vote.

Sunil Tyagi, a resident of Burari, said roads are in a bad state.

"The supply of contaminated water is a regular affair. One cannot drink tap water.Roads in Burari area are not in a good condition. Dust here is the main source of bad air quality," Tyagi said.

There are nearly 270 unauthorised colonies and more than 46 slum clusters across 10 assembly constituencies falling in North-East Delhi.