Who's Mohan Singh Bisht, BJP candidate leading in Muslim-dominated Mustafabad
What's the story
Mohan Singh Bisht, a veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, is set to win from the Mustafabad constituency. After 18 rounds of vote counting, Bisht was leading with 77,859 votes. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Adeel Ahmad Khan was trailing with 60,320 votes. The constituency, which falls in North East Delhi and has a 39.5% Muslim population, was one of the worst-hit during the 2020 riots.
Political trajectory
Bisht's political journey and recent candidacy
Bisht has a long political career. He was the MLA of Karawal Nagar from 1998 to 2015. He lost his seat to Kapil Mishra in 2015 but won it back in 2020 by defeating AAP's Durgesh Pathak. Recently, he was replaced by Mishra as the BJP candidate for Karawal Nagar, a decision he criticized as a "big mistake."
Candidacy announcement
Bisht's candidacy for Mustafabad and public support
The BJP national leadership later announced Bisht as the candidate for Mustafabad, keeping in mind the area's huge Pahadi population. Confident of his candidacy, Bisht said: "I was the MLA of Karawal Nagar from 1998 to 2008 when the Mustafabad constituency was formed." He added people have come out on the streets in support of him after this announcement and there is also a lot of support from within his party.
Leadership commendation
Senior BJP leaders praise Bisht's accessibility and efforts
Senior BJP leaders have called Bisht "accessible" and lauded him for his work in resolving local issues and executing development projects. However, his political career has not been devoid of controversy. In 2020, he was accused of leading a mob during the riots and burning a shop. Despite the allegations, no charges were pressed against him.