Voting for Bawana byelection Wednesday

New Delhi: The Bawana assembly bypoll will turn out to be a prestigious battle between the Poorvanchali and Punjabi-Baniya communities within the Bharatiya Janata Party. Voting for the seat will be held on Wednesday.

Facing stiff opposition from the Punjabi-Baniya lobby, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari is leaving no stone unturned to win the Bawana constituency, which has more than 30 per cent Poorvanchali voters. On the last day of campaigning, Mr Tiwari also had lunch at a rickshaw puller’s home in a bid to woo the migrant voters.

Mr Tiwari’s appointment as the city BJP chief on November 30 last year did not go down well with the party’s strong Punjabi-Baniya lobby. Though BJP’s historic mandate in April civic polls and the victory in Rajouri Garden Assembly bypoll had cemented Mr Tiwari position in the state unit, different factions within the party still continue to challenge his position.

The Bawana bypoll is being seen as one of the challenges for him.

Some party leaders said that a BJP victory in Bawana would establish Mr Tiwari as the undisputed leader of Poorvanchalis, which comprise around 30 per cent of total electorate.

According to a party insider, sensing any case of sabotage from within the party in the last phase, Mr Tiwari took control of the campaign in his own hand.

“Mr Tiwari campaigned for BJP candidate Ved Prakash for six days addressing 17 small and big public meeting across the Bawana Assembly segment. Mr Tiwari also held a road show and padyatra across the constituency.”

According to the party estimate, Mr Tiwari’s popularity as a Bhojpuri singer is very high among Poorvanchalis.

“His popularity can be gauged by number of people at a public meeting. And he uses his popularity to connect with the voters and highlights the failure of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party government,” the party insider added.