Political observers were not shocked when the BJP announced the name of Kapil Mishra as its candidate for the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025. The man known for his anti-Muslim rhetoric will contest from Karawal Nagar. The saffron party may use him to create a Hindu-Muslim divide and polarise voters before the polls.

Karawal Nagar is the assembly constituency where Muslims constitute about 30% of the population. Situated in the North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, it is densely populated with people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana.

Karawal Nagar: BJP’s Bastion

Karawal Nagar is the traditional seat for the BJP, which won the constituency in 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013. The saffron party’s applecart was put upside down in 2015 when Aam Aadmi Party’s Kapil Mishra snatched the seat from Mohan Singh Bishta.

However, Bishta hit back in 2020 and won the seat once again, defeating Mishra.

Mohan Singh Bishta was angry when he found himself replaced with Kapil Mishra in the second list of the party’s candidates a few days back.

Revolt In BJP

Warning the saffron party of dire consequences, he claimed that the party had committed a huge mistake by fielding someone else.

Announcing that he would not contest from any other constituency, Bishta hinted that the BJP may heavy prices in Burari, Karawal Nagar, Ghonda, Seelampur, Gokalpuri, and Nand Nagri seats.

He revolted against the party and declared to file the nomination papers from Karawal Nagar a day before January 17. However, the saffron party mollified him by giving him a ticket from Mustafabad.

Kapil Mishra: Past Master Of Controversies

Kapil Mishra hit the headlines in 2020 when he likened the Delhi Legislative Assembly election to an India versus Pakistan contest.

Also Read: Congress Crafts Strategy For Delhi Elections, Banks On Muslim, OBC Voters To Regain Ground

Taking to the social media platform Twitter (now X), he wrote in a post, “There will be a contest on Delhi Roads between India and Pakistan on February 8”.

BJP Leader Intimidates Police

Kapil Mishra stirred another controversy soon as he allegedly threatened to take action against the persons protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

What may be called as an attempt to intimidate North East Delhi DCP, Ved Prakash Surya, he asked him to remove the protesters from Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh areas in three days’ time, otherwise he would take matters into his own hands.

He threatened that he would “hit the streets” and “not remain peaceful”.

Also Read: Delhi Assembly Elections 2025: Is It A Golden Opportunity For Congress To Make A Comeback?

The BJP soon swung into action and its East Delhi MP, Gautam Gambhir, said that “Kapil Mishra’s speech is not acceptable” and asked the police to take strict action against the people responsible for violence, regardless of his political alliance.

Election Commission Cracks Whip

However, the matter escalated. Demanding to arrest him, the relatives of the people who had died in the violence accused the BJP leader of inciting the clashes.

The situation became more tense after the father of a victim Rahul Solanki claimed that Mishra had returned home after instigating the fire.

Also Read: Delhi Assembly Elections 2025: Will RSS Use Hindutva To Propel BJP To Power?

Remaining nonchalant of the hullaballoo over his anti-Muslim rhetoric, Kapil Mishra tweeted soon after that he was not afraid of the “massive hate campaign” against him for “speaking truth” and supporting CAA. He went on to say that “Jaffrabad has been vacated, there won’t be another Shaheen Bagh”.

Will Kapil Mishra Escalate Tension?

A show-cause notice was issued to Mishra by the Delhi poll authorities for “violation of the model code of conduct and the Representation of the People Act”.

He was accused of trying to aggravate differences between two communities and the Election Commission imposed a 48-hour campaigning ban on him.

The candidature of Kapil Mishra from Karawal Nagar is most likely to escalate the tension as the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is mulling the idea of fielding Delhi riots accused Ishrat Jehan against Kapil Mishra.

Will AIMIM Field Its Candidate Against Mishra?

Earlier Delhi AIMIM chief Shoaib Jamei said that giving ticket to riot accused Kapil Mishra is adding insult to injury for the Muslims.

Taking to social media platform X, he said that the Muslims constitute 30% of votes in the area and the party has a strong organisation there.

He also asked the Congress to support the AIMIM candidates in Okhla and Mustafabad. The party has already announced to field Tahir Hussain from Mustafabad and Shafa-ru-Rehman from Okhla.

How will the AIMIM impact the election outcome in Karawal Nagar? Political analysts believe that fielding a Muslim candidate by the AIMIM may split the Muslim votes and it may benefit the BJP.

The AAP and the Congress vie to get a bigger chunk of the votes from Muslims, who are supposed to pick anyone who can stop the saffron party.

Will AIMIM Help BJP?

If the AIMIM fields a candidate under these circumstances, he is most likely to split the votes in two parts and end up helping the saffron party.

The AIMIM has been accused of helping the BJP many times, a charge its leader and MP Asaduddin Owaisi has rejected vehemently.

However, the AAP is seen as a party capable of stopping the BJP from making the government in Delhi, so the Muslims may consolidate behind it, not the Congress. The Grand Old Paty is still in shambles with no central leader making plans to hit the streets of Delhi. In this situation, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Muslims voted for the AAP candidate Manoj Tyagi instead of Ishrat Jehan.

The political observers believe Kapil Mishra is most likely to polarise votes and help the BJP in other constituencies. If the AAP or the Congress gets sucked into this controversy, it will only boost the chances of the BJP further.

The Muslim voters of Karwal Nagar may emerge as the most decisive factor in this election. They may choose the AAP candidate to beat Kapil Mishra.