The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its first list of 29 candidates for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections. Among the candidates are former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ministers like Kailash Gahlot, who will run from Bijwasan, and Raj Kumar Anand from Patel Nagar. The BJP is also fielding Arvind Singh Lovely, a former Congress leader, from Gandhi Nagar.
A big match-up is expected in the New Delhi constituency, where the BJP has nominated Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma, the son of a former chief minister, to challenge AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. In the Kalkaji seat, former MP Ramesh Bidhuri will take on current chief minister Atishi. The Congress party has also entered this contest, naming Sheila Dikshit’s son, Sandeep Dikshit, as their candidate for New Delhi and Alka Lamba for Kalkaji.
The BJP has retained some of its current MLAs, including Ajay Mahwar from Ghonda and Vijender Gupta from Rohini. The list includes newcomers, former AAP and Congress members, and a few women candidates—Rekha Gupta from Shalimar Bagh and Kumari Rinku from Seemapuri. Former AAP MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar will contest from Chhatarpur, while former Congress MLA Raj Kumar Chauhan will run from Mangolpuri.
The BJP will face off against AAP leader Manish Sisodia in Jangpura, where he has moved to represent after holding the Patparganj seat. The AAP has already named all 70 candidates for the elections, while the Congress has announced 48 so far.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva expressed confidence in the candidates, claiming they are experienced and will defeat the AAP in their areas. He criticized AAP, saying they haven’t done much in the last ten years.
The assembly elections for Delhi’s 70 seats will likely happen in February, as the current assembly’s term ends on February 23. In 2020, the AAP won 62 seats, while the BJP got 8. Currently, the AAP has 58 seats, with a few members resigning or being disqualified, and the BJP holds 7 seats. The election schedule is expected to be announced next week.
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