Patparganj: Closely fought seat, and the gateway to east Delhi

Patparganj constituency presents a contrast between upper middle-class residential societies and lower-income neighbourhoods.

Most seats in east Delhi, home to a large Purvanchali population, tend to follow a predictable trend, with voters rarely allowing new contenders to break into well-established strongholds. This holds true for Patparganj, a constituency that has remained loyal to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since 2013 despite some close fights.

Acharya Niketan Market at Mayur Vihar Phase 1 in New Delhi on Wednesday (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

This time, the contest appears harder to call.

Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, a three-time MLA and one of the AAP’s most prominent faces, is not contesting from Patparganj after having won the seat by a hair’s breadth in 2020. Instead, the party has fielded civil services coach Avadh Ojha, a political newcomer who joined the AAP only in December.

Ojha faces off against two seasoned figures who have been active in the constituency for years — the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Ravinder Singh Negi and the Congress’s Chaudhary Anil Kumar.

The Patparganj constituency presents a contrast between upper middle-class residential societies and lower-income neighbourhoods.

However, across this divide, residents share common grievances — water quality, civic infrastructure, parking shortages, and monsoon flooding. These issues are expected to be key in deciding the outcome of this high-stakes contest.

Patparganj has a diverse demographic mix. According to the final electoral rolls, it has 226,310 voters — 122,194 men, 104,100 women, and 16 third-gender electors.

Various estimates suggest that Purvanchali and Uttarakhandi voters make up 18-20% of the electorate, mostly concentrated in Mandawali, East Vinod Nagar, and West Vinod Nagar.

Muslim voters account for around 8-9%, primarily residing in Mandawali Fazalpur.

Geographically, Patparganj showcases an economic divide that many areas in Delhi do. Affluent areas such as Mayur Vihar Phases 1 and 2 and IP Extension stand in contrast to urban villages, slums, and lower-middle-class settlements such as Mandawali, Acharya Niketan, Vinod Nagar, Khichripur, Shashi Garden, and Patparganj village. The Delhi-Meerut Expressway and National Highway-9 cut through these neighbourhoods, deepening the economic and infrastructural divide.

For a seat that usually delivers clear electoral outcomes, Patparganj saw one of Delhi’s closest contests in 2020. Sisodia narrowly edged out BJP’s Negi by just 3,207 votes, a margin of 2.3% — one of the lowest in the city.

This was a sharp drop from his landslide victory in 2015, when he won by over 28,000 votes against BJP’s Vinod Kumar Binny.

Notably, the BJP’s vote share surged from 33% in 2015 to 47% in 2020, making Patparganj one of AAP’s most vulnerable seats in these elections.

Now, with Sisodia moving to contest from Jangpura — where AAP won comfortably in 2020 — BJP’s Negi, a sitting municipal councillor, believes the party is well-positioned to take the seat.

“AAP’s last victory was as good as a loss, which is why Manish Sisodia abandoned this seat, fearing certain defeat. In a rush, they fielded an outsider—a commercial face with no real connection to Patparganj. Meanwhile, I have been working in this area for years, and people appreciate my efforts,” Negi said.

The BJP candidate credited himself with improving sanitation, ensuring regular garbage collection, removing illegal dumping sites, and installing streetlights, benches, and a compactor machine in parks.

Congress candidate Anil Kumar, a former Delhi Congress chief, is also looking to reclaim lost ground. He was the area’s MLA in 2008 before the AAP’s rise altered Delhi’s political landscape. From 1998 to 2013, Patparganj was a Congress stronghold. Kumar has framed his campaign around reviving the infrastructural development seen under former chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

Kumar claimed that the people of Delhi have seen AAP’s reality in terms of their actions and have decided to vote against it. “This is the reason Manish Sisodia had to flee, as their own surveys showed that people of Patparganj will not vote for him. In a rush, they got a candidate who is an outsider and knows nothing. Sisodia only added liquor stores in Patparganj. There are liquor stores near schools and hospitals. In contrast, the BJP candidate only talks of hatred, pitting one community against another. He never talks of the work he has done as a councillor. People here know our work and will support us,” he said.

The AAP, meanwhile, is dealing with the baggage of its past.

Sisodia’s absence — due to his incarceration over alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy — has been a thorny issue, and opposition parties have capitalised on it, accusing the AAP leaders of being “part-time politicians” only available when out on bail. The corruption allegations have further dented the party’s image in the constituency.

Ojha himself has faced criticism, with rivals calling him an “outsider” unfamiliar with local issues. Still, he will be the man to beat in these elections because of his party’s hold on the area for three poll cycles.

Originally from Gonda in Uttar Pradesh, Ojha has been living in Greater Noida and was registered as a voter there until recently. His name was shifted to Delhi’s electoral rolls after he joined the AAP.

His critics argue that he turned to the AAP after failing to secure a BJP or Congress ticket to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

HT reached out to AAP’s candidate Ojha for a comment on the upcoming polls but did not receive a response.

The area is known for dozens of apartment complexes boasting of hundreds of flats that house thousands of upper-middle class residents.

However, water supply is the biggest concern among residents. Many complain about receiving dirty, undrinkable water for just a few hours in the morning and evening.

“The supply is regular, but the water quality is horrible. We’ve been complaining for years, but nothing has changed. Even in gated societies, the water is so bad that we have to boil it before use,” said Ruby Jha, a 33-year-old homemaker from Mandawali.

Overflowing and open sewer lines are another major issue, especially in Vinod Nagar and Khichripur.

“The stench is unbearable, and during the rains, sewage floods our streets. The MLA’s office has been unresponsive, and there’s no one to address our complaints. The sewer lines remain in terrible condition,” said Preeti Rawat, a resident of East Vinod Nagar.

Parking shortage has also frustrated residents, particularly in Mandawali, East and West Vinod Nagar, and Patparganj village. Narrow lanes are choked with two-wheelers, making it difficult for pedestrians to navigate. Emergency vehicles often struggle to pass through.

“The paid parking lots are unsafe. Vehicles have caught fire multiple times, but the attendants don’t care—they only focus on collecting money. If anything happens, we are the ones left helpless,” said Ajay Walia, a resident of Mandawali Fazalpur.

To be sure, the area is generally characterised by relatively clean and well-maintained roads.

With all three major candidates confident of victory, voters anticipate a closely fought battle.

“The BJP candidate is banking on the fact that Sisodia barely won last time, and the AAP has replaced him with a weaker face. Ojha, on the other hand, is relying on Arvind Kejriwal’s popularity and the AAP’s welfare schemes. The Congress candidate hopes to tap into anti-incumbency sentiment and community votes. It’s a three-way contest, and the winner will be determined by how well each candidate mobilizes their support on election day,” said Arun Kumar Singh, a social worker from IP Extension.

As polling day approaches, the battle for Patparganj remains unpredictable, with the AAP trying to retain its narrow hold on the seat, the BJP hoping to capitalise on the ground it has gained, and the Congress seeking a revival.