Delhi polls: Minorities hold keys to Okhla constituency

The constituency

Of 70 assemblies in Delhi, Okhla’s electorate of 379,509 voters is only surpassed by Bawana, Matiala, Burari and Vikaspuri, in numerical terms. Political parties estimate key voter communities here to be Muslims (45%), Scheduled Caste (10%), Gurjar (15%), OBC (12%) and Punjabi (6%), among others.

The assembly covers five municipal wards: Zakir Nagar, Abul Fazal Enclave, Sarita Vihar, Madanpur Khadar East and Madanpur Khadar West.

Okhla, once a village, showed first signs of urbanisation in 1935 when the foundation for the Jamia Millia Islamia, previously located in Karol Bagh, was laid. Over the decades since, the area grew rapidly into a mix of industrial, commercial, educational and residential hubs. Currently, its key areas include Zakir Nagar, Batla House, Abul Fazal Enclave, Okhla Head, Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh, Okhla Vihar, Johri Farm, Ghaffar Manzil, and Jamia Millia Islamia campus. The constituency also encompasses a few tony areas, such as parts of New Friends Colony, Sarita Vihar and Kalindi.

During the early 1970s, when Delhi was undergoing rapid urbanisation, people from across the country started moving to Jamia Nagar, led by professors of the university. Jamia Millia still acts as a nerve centre for the region, while unchecked urbanisation and growth of unauthorised colonies has led to massive population growth in the past two decades. The number of electors has almost doubled from 209,643 in 2008 to 380,000 in 2025.

The candidates

In eight elections since 1993, the seat has been dominated by the Congress, until the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) Amanatullah Khan broke the streak in 2015, clocking two wins in a row with overwhelming majorities. Fifty-one-year-old Khan remains AAP’s key Muslim leader, entangled in tussle with police—who labelled him a “bad character” in 2022, with 19 cases pending against him. Khan has maintained his innocence in all cases.

Amanatullah Khan has rapped the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) at public meetings for potentially cutting into his vote bank, warning electors that choosing the AIMIM may ultimately lead to the BJP’s gain. “He (AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi) wants to divide votes based on sentiments. He wants to deliver the seat to BJP. One needs at least 90,000 votes to win here. We get votes on all 282 booths. Voting for them is wasting vote. Amanatullah is voice of Muslims and they want to silence it,” he said at a rally last week.

To regain a foothold in the constituency, the Congress is fielding 31-year-old Ariba Khan, the incumbent councillor of Abul Fazal ward, and the daughter of veteran politician and two-time ex-MLA Asif Khan. Her uncle, Arif Md Khan, is a BJP leader and the current governor of Bihar.

Ariba Khan’s campaign has primarily focussed on developmental issues, as she attacked the AAP for failing to deliver on multiple fronts. She has also been supported by the party’s star faces, including Rahul Gandhi, former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin and Kanhaiya Kumar. “Now is the time to raise voice for rights. People are suffering from 10 years due to development issues and excesses of administration. I am the daughter of a man who has stood by people strongly... In the past 10 years, Kejriwal has disappointed people of Okhla on every front, such as sewer, roads, electricity meters and drinking water,” she said.

The AIMIM is, meanwhile, banking on Shifa-ur-Rehman, a former president of Jamia Millia’s alumni association who is incarcerated—he was granted parole to file nominations and custody parole until February 3 to campaign—for his alleged involvement in the anti-CAA protests and Delhi riots. Political observers posit that sympathy votes for Rahman could scramble the matrix of calculations for his rivals.

Rahman’s campaign has largely been run by his wife Nooreen Fatima, family and friends. Fatima, addressing a public meeting, made emotional appeals to people. “What was our mistake... that we were part of the protest? We are not fighting to win the election, not to cut votes. If our goal was to make our awam (community) suffer, Shifaur Rahman would not have been in jail. How can they question our existence when my husband has been in jail for five years for you. Our eyes have dried up crying. Did Shifaur Rahman do anything wrong? I have brought my child with me because I cannot see him suffering any longer.”

Shifaur Rahman, in his first public address last Thursday upon being released on custody parole, said: “I have spent five years in jail with your prayers. I am here with a message: never get weak. To win and lose is a part of life, but we have to prove we want our dignity and self-respect. We will not bow to fear. Our issues are not spoken about and we are only made to see BJP’s fear. Our issues are not road and water; our issue is employment, schools and hospitals. We were living without roads and water even 30 years back. Our battle is of principle of Muslims of India. All of us have come from outside Okhla. We all want respect.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, is betting on Manish Chaudhary, a former DUSU secretary and party’s OBC Morcha Mahamantri (general secretary). Chaudhary switched from the Congress to the BJP in January 2020 during the anti-CAA protests, citing “difficulties faced by people” because of the Shaheen Bagh protests.

Chaudhary said that the Okhla election, this time, is being fought on the sole issue of development and Muslims will also vote for the BJP. “Okhla’s election is on the misgovernance and problems faced by public in terms of lack of water supply, broken roads, overflowing sewers and total collapse of services. They keep scaring people in the name of BJP but the party’s policy is to develop these areas. We will provide homes; not demolish them as claimed by our opponents. People are now aware of these lies.”

Issues and problems

Located barely a few kilometres from Nehru Place, the entry to the Okhla constituency is marked by potholed roads and piles of garbage along roadsides. Among the plethora of problems raised by residents are acute water supply shortage during summer, a failing sewage system which often leads to overflow and damaged roads, and illegal encroachments compounding an already cramped segment of the Capital.

Localities such as Haji Colony, Jasola village, Johari Farms and Shaheen Bagh especially face acute water shortage in summer. Rashid, a resident of Johari Farms, said the shortage has been persisting for two decades, with no resolution in sight. “Pipelines have been laid but supply is erratic. As summer season approaches, the water supply will become increasingly problematic. Last year, we faced a deep crisis for 10 consecutive days,” he said.

Forty-five-year-old Md Irfan, a shopkeeper at Shaheen Bagh, said that people have been suffering due to non-existent roads. “Even the main market road was dug up for laying down sewage line and has only been recently laid. Inner lanes are still dug up. During last monsoon, even walking on the main road was impossible,” he said.

Jamia Nagar’s narrow lanes face major parking issues. Most of the vehicles can be seen parked along the road side. Residents complained that there was no designated parking lot in the locality.

Chitra Jain, general secretary of the New Friends Colony RWA (Ashoka Park), said that NFC faces five key issues-- crumbling storm water drain infrastructure which leads to water logging, upgradation of sewage lines to prevent frequent overflow of lines, streamlining of vendors from nearby villages and four overflowing dhalaos. “The drains and sewage lines were set up in 1970s and are no longer adequate for this population. The population of four villages surrounding NFC has increased ten times and this spills over in form of haphazard parking and vendors. The area also needs alternate route connectivity with peripheral arterial roads,” she added hoping that the new MLA tackles them on priority.