As the Delhi assembly elections draw to an end, Shaheen Bagh protesters seem to have vacated the protest site that they had occupied for almost 2 months now, blocking one of the busiest thoroughfares of the national capital in opposition to the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act that intends to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
On Tuesday morning, incidentally, when the Delhi Assembly election results were to be announced, the protest site of Shaheen Bagh appeared empty with scarce number of demonstrators at the site, says a report published in Amar Ujala.
In the run up to the Delhi elections, there were speculations galore that the protest that had continued for more than 55 days, causing grave inconvenience to the lakhs of daily commuters will vanish just after the elections concluded. The speculations now appear to have turned true as a large number of regular protesters at Shaheen Bagh have deserted the protest site on Tuesday morning and did not turn up for what they claimed their democratic right to protest against the government’s move to bring in the CAA.
Since December 15, 2019, protesters gathered at Shaheen Bagh and blocked one of the arterial roads in Delhi against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The protest site was accused of being an independent enclave where participation of people was regulated based on their political inclinations and past predispositions. It also witnessed anti-India and pro-Azaadi slogans being chanted by the demonstrators.
It is noteworthy to mention that Shaheen Bagh comes under Okhla constituency where controversial Aam Aadmi Party member Amanatullah Khan has registered a victory. The Aam Admi Party is well poised to secure a thumping majority in the 70-seats Delhi assembly to stake a claim at the government while the BJP is expected to win 15-20 seats. The Congress party, on the other hand, seems to be on its way to acquire another duck.