Kalkaji seat is crucial for AAP, Congress, and BJP, with a fierce three-way battle for victory.
New Delhi: Delhi’s Kalkaji Assembly constituency is set to witness a fierce three-way battle between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. All three parties have announced their candidates, with AAP and Congress fielding women candidates, while BJP has chosen a seasoned leader, a former South Delhi MP. This seat has garnered significant attention, as Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Singh (AAP) is pitted against Congress leader Alka Lamba and BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri, leveraging their influence in the region.
Earlier this week, the Election Commission of India announced that Delhi elections will be held in a single phase on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, with results to be declared on Saturday, February 8, 2025. Kalkaji, known for its cultural vibrancy, is home to notable religious landmarks such as the iconic Lotus Temple, a Bahá’í house of worship, the Kalkaji Temple with its distinctive red-and-gold domes, and the ISKCON Temple complex, which includes ornate towers, a Vedic museum, and a vegetarian restaurant. These sites make the constituency a hub for spiritual and cultural activities.
Kalkaji falls under the South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. Traditionally a Congress stronghold, the seat has gradually shifted in favour of AAP. In the 2020 elections, AAP’s Atishi Singh won the seat, defeating BJP’s Dharambir Singh by a margin of 11,393 votes. Congress candidate Shivani Chopra finished in third. In the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, AAP’s Avtar Singh emerged victorious with 55,104 votes, while BJP’s Harmeet Singh Kalka secured 35,335 votes and Congress’s Subhash Chopra garnered 13,552 votes. Congress last won this seat in 2008, and the BJP registered its last victory in 2013. AAP has dominated this constituency in the past two elections, and now aims for a hat-trick by fielding Chief Minister Atishi Singh.
The Congress is aiming to reclaim the Kalkaji seat. The party has fielded Alka Lamba, the National President of Mahila Congress. Lamba, who was with Congress from 1994 to 2014, joined AAP in 2014 and won the Chandni Chowk seat in 2015. However, she returned to the Congress in 2019. As a Congress candidate, Lamba has contested two Assembly elections but lost both— first from Moti Nagar in 2003 and later from Chandni Chowk in 2020. A vocal critic of both AAP and BJP, Lamba recently criticised former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his “politics of religion” following his announcement of remuneration for priests and granthis in Delhi.
The BJP has fielded former MP Ramesh Bidhuri to take on AAP and Congress contenders. Bidhuri is a two-time MP from the South Delhi constituency and a three-time MLA from Tughlakabad, winning elections in 2003, 2008, and 2013, even during periods of weaker BJP performance in the city. Known for his strong grassroots presence, Bidhuri has faced criticism over controversial remarks, that some believe cost him a parliamentary ticket.
Despite this, the party has entrusted him with the Kalkaji seat. His campaign has already drawn criticism from both AAP and Congress over statements made against Atishi Singh and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for which he later issued an apology on X (formerly Twitter).
The Kalkaji seat is crucial for all three parties. AAP’s Atishi, a rising leader and the party’s first woman minister, is seen as a potential Chief Minister. For Congress, a win would mark its comeback in Delhi and give Lamba a chance to settle scores with AAP. BJP, aiming to strengthen its position after decades of struggle to form a government, sees a victory for Bidhuri as a boost to its rivalry with AAP.