For ten years, Jangpura was one of the safest areas for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi. They won by big margins of over 20,000 votes in the last two elections. But this Saturday, things changed dramatically when former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia lost to BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah by only 675 votes. This was the closest election ever in Jangpura.
Sisodia had moved to Jangpura from Patparganj, hoping to find an easier place to win. In the last election in Patparganj, he won narrowly after trailing for several rounds. This time, he started strong, leading by about 2,348 votes after six rounds. However, Marwah began to catch up from the seventh round and ended up winning by a small margin after ten rounds of counting. Marwah received 38,859 votes while Sisodia got 38,184 votes.
Before the final results came in, it seemed quite clear how the election was going to end. A visibly upset Sisodia left the counting center early. He told reporters, “My party workers did a great job. We all worked hard, and the people supported us too. But I lost by about 600 votes. I congratulate the winner and hope he works well for the people.” He also mentioned that the party would look into the reasons for the defeat.
Jangpura is known for its differences: it has rich areas like Nizamuddin East, middle-class parts like Jangpura Extension, and crowded settlements near the railway tracks. It faces various challenges, such as handling busy markets and providing basic services to poor neighborhoods. Marwah’s win was important for him as he had been an MLA from this area for three terms before 2013. After losing a close election in 2013, he switched to the BJP in 2022.
Marwah said he worked hard for this victory and credited the attention he received from leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Local residents pointed out two main reasons for AAP’s loss. One reason was dissatisfaction with the previous AAP MLA, Praveen Kumar. People felt he did not visit the area much, even though AAP had strong wins in previous elections. The second reason was that the Congress and other anti-BJP parties did not join forces, which split the votes. The Congress candidate, former Delhi Mayor Farhad Suri, got 7,324 votes, possibly taking votes away from Sisodia.
Now, Marwah promises to improve local issues like broken roads and water supply. He stated, “There are broken roads and clogged sewer lines. I will also work on providing clean water to the people.”
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