Delhi polls: AAP forms task force to woo voters of Purvanchal community

As the assembly elections in Delhi draw near, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has formed a task force to attract voters from the Purvanchal community residing in the national capital, party sources said.

According to the sources, AAP has formed seven teams, under party leader Sanjay Singh's leadership, to cover the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi. The role of these teams is to prepare a strategy to connect voters from the Purvanchal community with AAP at the ground level.

The teams are expected to focus on engaging with the Purvanchali population in Delhi and highlighting how the BJP has been against them, the sources added.

This comes after a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson was forced to issue an apology over his remarks against an AAP MLA. AAP plans to use this incident to attract voters from the Purvanchal community.

Party sources said that Sanjay Singh has been continuously holding meetings with people associated with this task force across Delhi. Similar meetings are also being held at the local level in different parts of the national capital. If sources are to be believed, AAP has already held about 600 meetings on this issue.

Meanwhile, the BJP has also devised a special strategy by forming a team of Purvanchali leaders to win over the Purvanchal vote bank in Delhi's upcoming elections. Over 100 leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been assigned key responsibilities.

Former MP and Assam BJP in-charge, Harish Dwivedi, has been appointed as the coordinator. Starting Thursday, BJP leaders from Eastern India will enter Delhi's election battleground.

Of the 70 assembly seats in Delhi, Purvanchali voters are believed to have a significant influence on 27 seats. Voters from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand make up a strong vote share in these constituencies. As the election date, February 5, approaches, both BJP and AAP are concentrating their efforts on these Purvanchali voters.

The growing dominance of Purvanchali voters from the Hindi belt of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand in Delhi is evident.

According to available data, there are constituencies where Purvanchalis comprise 25 to 38 per cent of the population. In light of this, almost every political party has prioritized Purvanchali candidates, offering them key positions and tickets.

As both BJP and AAP vie for the confidence of Purvanchali voters, this demographic is poised to play a decisive role in determining the outcome of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections.

A total of 699 candidates are competing for the 70 assembly seats in Delhi.

The Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 consecutive years, has suffered major setbacks in the last two assembly elections, failing to win any seats. AAP dominated the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections, securing 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of the total 70 seats, while BJP managed only three and eight seats in these elections.