Delhi's Kalkaji assembly constituency is set to witness a high-octane battle as all three parties have fielded strong candidates for the seat. The AAP has nominated the incumbent Chief Minister Atishi, who currently holds the seat; the BJP has chosen two-time former South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri; and Congress has selected All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba.
The constituency, which is named after the renowned Kalkaji Temple dedicated to the goddess Kali, was restructured and formed by the Delimitation Commission in 2008. Kalkaji is part of the South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, which includes nine other assembly constituencies: Bijwasan, Sangam Vihar, Ambedkar Nagar, Chhatarpur, Deoli, Tughlakabad, Palam, Badarpur, and Mehrauli.
The seat sees a mix of demographics, with both businesspeople and lower-income groups residing there. It has a sizeable population of voters belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Punjabis, who make up 27% and 22% of the voter share, respectively. This is followed by 12% Scheduled Castes (SC) voters, 8% Pandit voters, 7% Sikh and Vaishya voters, and 3% Muslim and Gujjar voters. Located in the south-east district of Delhi, the constituency has a total of 1,94,515 voters, with a higher number of male voters at 1,06,893, compared to 87,617 female voters, according to the Election Commission of India.
The assembly constituency has gained prominence in recent years due to being represented by Atishi. In the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, Atishi from the AAP won the seat with 55,897 votes, followed by BJP's Dharmveer with 44,504 votes, and Congress' Shivani Chopra, who garnered 4,965 votes. In the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, Avtar Singh from AAP won with 55,104 votes, while BJP's Harmeet Singh Kalka secured 35,335 votes and INC's Subhash Chopra received 13,552 votes.
Since 1993, the seat has seen seven assembly elections, with Congress winning three times, AAP winning twice, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP each securing one victory. Despite this, the South Delhi parliamentary constituency, of which Kalkaji is a part, has been a BJP bastion, with the party winning the seat eight times in the last nine elections. BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri won the seat with comfortable margins in 2014 and 2019. In 2024, BJP was victorious again, with Ramvir Singh Bidhuri winning the Lok Sabha elections from South Delhi. Despite being denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha, Ramesh Bidhuri has been tasked with defeating the incumbent Chief Minister in the assembly elections.
Residents of three wards in the Kalkaji constituency-Sri Niwas Puri, Kalkaji, and Govindpuri-have raised concerns about various civic issues that require urgent attention. A resident of Govindpuri highlighted the issue of poorly maintained by-lanes, which flood during the rainy season, making it dangerous to commute.
The area also frequently suffers from the problem of encroachment, as vendors set up shop on the side of the roads, leading to significant congestion. "The problem is made worse by people parking on the roads. We have complained to authorities multiple times, but nothing gets done," a resident of the area said.
