Mustafabad Leads Delhi Voter Turnout As Riot-Scarred Seat Sees Fierce 4-Way Battle Among BJP, AAP, Cong, AIMIM

Delhi Assembly elections: Mustafabad is leading the voter turnout as the constituency, affected by the 2020 riots, is facing a multi-party contest with candidates from AAP, BJP, Congress, and AIMIM.

New Delhi: AIMIM candidate from Mustafabad constituency Tahir Hussain, former AAP councillor and Delhi riots accused, during an election campaign under police custody ahead of the Delhi Assembly election a day after the Supreme Court granted him six-day custody parole, in Delhi, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.

Source : PTI

Polling for the Delhi Assembly elections is underway, with the national capital recording a voter turnout of 46.55 per cent till 3 pm on Wednesday. According to Election Commission data, the Northeast district registered the highest turnout at 52.73 per cent, while the New Delhi district saw the lowest at 43.10 per cent. Among constituencies, Mustafabad recorded the highest turnout at 56.12 per cent, whereas Karol Bagh saw the lowest at 39.05 per cent.  

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The Mustafabad constituency, which witnessed communal riots in 2020, is set for a high-stakes contest in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. Unlike the traditional two-party fight between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mustafabad features a four-way battle, with a veteran leader, a political scion, a journalist-turned-politician, and a controversial undertrial in the fray.  

The BJP has fielded Mohan Singh Bisht, a five-time MLA from Karawal Nagar, while AAP has nominated Adil Ahmad Khan, a journalist-turned-politician who has been with the party since the Anna Hazare movement. Congress has fielded Ali Mehdi, the son of former MLA Hasan Mehdi, who held the seat from 2008 to 2016. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) has put forth Tahir Hussain, a former AAP councillor who is currently incarcerated for his alleged role in the 2020 Delhi riots.  

Tahir Hussain, who was granted six-day custody parole by the Supreme Court, launched his campaign under police escort in Mustafabad. The Supreme Court restricted him from visiting his home in Karawal Nagar and making any public statements regarding his ongoing cases. A full bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta ruled that he must deposit ₹2.47 lakh per day to cover security expenses, including the police escort.

Delhi Election 2025: Mustafabad Voter Profile And Their Concerns  

Mustafabad, carved out in 2008, has a significant Muslim population of around 40 per cent. The constituency consists primarily of low-income and middle-class families engaged in factory work, small businesses, and labour. While the 2020 riots remain a defining moment, voters are more focused on issues such as infrastructure, sanitation, crime control, and post-pandemic employment revival, Hindustan Times reported.  

Anup Singh, general secretary of Dayalpur D-Block RWA, told HT, “This area is hugely populated. Thousands of people live in a single street and have vehicles. The roads are weak and keep caving in. There are a few roads which have not been fixed for years. Wine shops have opened in the area, causing nuisance and compromising the safety of women. All this needs to change.”  

Anees Bano, a resident of Shiv Vihar, expressed concerns over unemployment. She told Hindustan Times, “We have still not recovered from the pandemic and riots. My son used to work in factories, but they shut down, and now he does odd jobs. While there is peace at present, there is a deep-seated restlessness among communities.”  

Mohammed Aleem, a scrap dealer in Brijpuri, criticised the incumbent MLA Haji Yunus, stating, “Not just that, he didn’t work for the area’s development. He never even visited this area. But people believe in the party. It was after we shared our disappointment that they probably decided to change the candidate who brings some hope. The BJP has also fielded a very strong candidate. Who wins, we’ll know on the day of counting.”  

Delhi Election 2025: Mustafabad Candidates And Their Promises  

BJP’s Bisht, a well-known name in the area, is banking on his past record. He remarked, “I have facilitated the building of roads and schools in the area. But there is a dire need for infrastructure development, and I will work on that. For instance, there is government land where a hospital can be built; this will help people from low-income groups. There is a drain in Shiv Vihar which, if covered, can host a park over it; this will also solve the problem of people hosting weddings in the area... these are the real problems people are facing on a day-to-day basis.”  

AAP’s Adil Ahmad Khan, who has been staying in Mustafabad for the past two years, positioned himself as a fresh face committed to Kejriwal’s governance model. He told Hindustan Times, “The contest here is between BJP and AAP, and my opponent did not get a ticket from where he was a sitting MLA because their party knew about his chances of winning being bleak. The people of Mustafabad will bring AAP to power.”  

Congress candidate Ali Mehdi pledged to transform Mustafabad into “South Delhi.” He stated, “People know I can deliver. They’ve seen the years of neglect that followed my father’s time.”  

Hussain’s candidacy remains the most controversial, with his parole campaign sparking debate. While some see him as a disruptor, others believe he could split the Muslim vote, impacting the electoral outcome.

Delhi, with 1.56 crore eligible voters, is voting at 13,766 polling stations across 70 constituencies. In the 2020 elections, the national capital recorded a turnout of 62.59 per cent, while the 2024 Lok Sabha polls saw only 56 per cent participation.  

Key leaders, including President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, were among the early voters.  

Delhi will go to polls on February 5, with the counting of votes scheduled for February 8.