#DelhiElections: What's happening at seats where anti-CAA protests took place
What's the story
The counting for Delhi Assembly Elections is underway and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took a lead in early trends. This is naturally upsetting for BJP. In the final days of electioneering, the saffron party spoke about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and blamed protests. But did this argument cut ice with voters? Let's understand who was favored at seats that witnessed massive protests.
Shaheen Bagh
Shaheen Bagh belongs to Okhla constituency, AAP took lead there
The most pronounced agitation against the new law on citizenship happened at Shaheen Bagh. The agitation is almost two months old now, inviting a reaction from the Supreme Court. Yesterday, the top court said a public road can't be blocked "indefinitely". Shaheen Bagh falls in Okhla constituency from where AAP's Amantullah Khan took a lead. He is fighting against BJP's Brahm Singh and Congress' Parvez Hashmi.
Seelampur
From Seelampur as well, AAP is leading
Seelampur is another place where violent anti-CAA protests happened on December 17. As per EC, the constituency, which has a sizeable Muslim population, recorded 71.22% voting. The seat was held by Congress in 2003, 2008, and 2013. This time, AAP, BJP, and Congress fielded Abdul Rehman, Kaushal Kumar Mishra, and Mateen Ahmad respectively. Rehman is leading, said reports.
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In fact, AAP's candidate surged ahead in Matia Mahal too
Another constituency that witnessed arson and violence was Matia Mahal. AAP's candidate Shoiab Iqbal took a lead over his opponents Ravinder Gupta (BJP) and Mirza Javed Ali (Congress).
Mustafabad
From Mustafabad, BJP candidate took a lead
BJP could win Mustafabad, another seat where anti-CAA protests took a violent turn. The voter turnout here was recorded at 70.55%, according to data of the Election Commission. BJP's Jagdish Pradhan took a lead over AAP's Haji Yunus and Congress's Ali Mehndi. To note, Mustafabad was one of the three seats that the saffron party won in the 2015 elections.