New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS): The BJP may have been routed in the 2015 assembly polls, but Rohini has been a rare exception for the party. Historically too, the party had a sway over voters in the subcity of Delhi.
Dotted with highrises, Rohini has a lot of middle class voters who have been traditionally BJP loyalists. Also, the area is home to a sizeable 'baniya' community. Traders, too, are more inclined towards the BJP. That explains why in 2015, while the BJP lost 67 out of 70 seats, Rohini was a face-saver for the party.
Rohini is a relatively smaller constituency with 1,82,638 voters out of which 95,113 are male and 87,513 are female voters. There are 12 voters registered as transexual. The gender ratio of Rohini is 920.
Spread across 3,015 hectares, Rohini is an extension of Delhi. It was the first subcity project of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which was started in the 1980s to provide housing facilities to a populace for whom mainland Delhi property prices were unaffordable.
Places such as Badli, Pitampura, Shalimar Bagh, Haider Pur, Mangol Puri, Paschim Vihar, Narela Sub City, Budh Vihar, Mukarba Chowk encircle Rohini.
In the 2015 Delhi election embarrassment for the BJP, party leader Vijender Gupta was among the only three party leaders who managed to win. Gupta is tipped to be fielded again from Rohini.
In 2015, when AAP swept to power, BJP's Vijender Gupta managed to defeat AAP's C.L. Gupta by a thin margin of about 5,000 votes. The Congress was nowhere in action with its candidate Sukhbir Sharma getting only 3,399 votes.
The contest this time again will be bipolar: between BJP and AAP. In 2013 assembly polls, AAP had won the seat.