Development issues, a debate over a graveyard and eight Muslims candidates, besides a Gujjar nominee, have all made the sensitive Okhla constituency an exciting electoral battleground where the two-time MLA from Congress is facing a stiff challenge from AAP.
Development issues, a debate over a graveyard and eight Muslims candidates, besides a Gujjar nominee, have all made the sensitive Okhla constituency an exciting electoral battleground where the two-time MLA from Congress is facing a stiff challenge from AAP.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded Amanatullah Khan against Congress's Asif Mohammad Khan in the constituency where Muslims comprise 60% of the nearly 2,80,000 voters. Asif posted a formidable victory in the 2013 polls, winning by a margin of 26,000 votes against Irfanullah Khan of AAP. Asif is confident that he enjoys the support of a majority of Muslims, who had rallied behind him in the Batla House encounter case.
Batla House encounter issue has taken a backseat this time. Instead, it is the issue of Batla House graveyard "beautification" which has grabbed centre stage with rival camps exchanging barbs over it. AAP candidate Amanatullah, who contested on a Lok Janshakti Party ticket in 2013, appears to be making inroads in pockets considered as strongholds of Asif.
BJP has fielded former BSP state chief Brahm Singh Bidhuri, who had joined the party last month. The move angered Dheer Singh Bidhuri, who had unsuccessfully contested the last assembly elections from Okhla on a BJP ticket, and he joined AAP. BJP has its pockets in the constituency but is unlikely to beat Congress and AAP in the Muslim-majority seat.
Asif had raised the Batla encounter issue vociferously in 2009 bypoll but chose not to harp on it in 2013 as he was contesting from Congress, a party which he had criticised on the encounter issue. This time he is facing flak from his rivals for spending money on the "beautification" of the graveyard.
Asif reportedly spent Rs 2.8 crore on the works in the graveyard, a Wakf Board property. "The graveyard is an important issue in the area. There is no need of this beautification of the graveyard. The Batla House graveyard had a 32-inch boundary which was brought down to construct a 9-inch boundary," AAP candidate Amantullah said.
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