Delhi polls: Sisodia trailing in Patparganj, will Negi become BJP's giant killer?

Even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is scripting its way back to power for the third consecutive assembly election in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has reasons to worry. Sisodia, who had clocked in early leads in the morning, is currently trailing behind first-timer and BJP candidate Ravi Negi by 859 votes as the seventh round of counting is progressing on Tuesday. 

INC's Laxman Rawat is at a distant third. If Negi manages to trump Sisodia, then it will be a face saver for the BJP, which is facing defeat against the AAP in Delhi. Sisodia is closing the trailing gap, which was more than 2,000 at one point. 

Sisodia is the incumbent MLA from the Patparganj assembly constituency. In 2015, he won by a margin of over 28,000 votes against BJP's Vinod Kumar Binny. The Patparganj assembly constituency comprise IP Extension Patparganj, West Vinod Nagar, IP Extension, Mandawali, Mayur Vihar Phase-II, Acharya Niketan, East Vinod Nagar, Kalyanvas, Khichripur Village, Mayur Vihar Phase 1, Shashi Garden, Patparganj Village, and Pandav Nagar.

Interestingly, the assembly constituency falls under the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat from where BJP's Gautam Gambhir defeated AAP's Atishi in the 2019 General elections. In Patparganj alone, Gambhir had netted more than 61,000 votes over Atishi during the Lok Sabha elections. 

As clarity on the final picture is yet emerge, it is worthwhile to ponder what has gone wrong for Sisodia in Patparganj? Frequent power cuts and irregular water supply, in addition to improper waste management are the main issues the people of the area faced. 

The constituency also saw a high-decibel campaign with the likes of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath campaigning for Negi.