The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its first list of 29 candidates for the upcoming Delhi elections. Notable contenders include former Lok Sabha MP Parvesh Verma, who will challenge AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, and senior BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri, who is set to contest against Delhi Chief Minister Atishi in Kalkaji. Additionally, former AAP ministers Raaj Kumar Anand and Kailash Gahlot, who joined the BJP last year following a fallout with the party leadership, have also been given tickets.
The inclusion of Parvesh Verma, who has faced allegations from AAP of distributing money to voters, sets the stage for a high-stakes battle in the prestigious New Delhi constituency. The Congress party has also entered the fray, fielding Sandeep Dikshit, the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to contest from the seat.
Arvind Kejriwal has represented the New Delhi constituency as an MLA since 2013. Parvesh Verma, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, has come under fire from the AAP, which accused him of distributing Rs 1,100 to women voters in the constituency. The ruling party has also filed a complaint with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Verma, though he has vehemently denied the allegations.
The BJP has replaced its Gandhi Nagar MLA Anil Bajpai, opting instead to field former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely. Lovely, who served as a minister in Sheila Dikshit’s Congress government from 2003 to 2013, joined the BJP last year.
Former Delhi minister and Congress defector Rajkumar Chauhan has been awarded a BJP ticket to contest from Mangolpuri. Additionally, another ex-Congress MLA, Tarwinder Singh Marwah, will challenge AAP’s Manish Sisodia in Jangpura.
Former AAP minister Kailash Gahlot has been given a BJP ticket to contest from Bijwasan, replacing his former constituency of Najafgarh. Gahlot, who once described himself as Arvind Kejriwal’s “Hanuman,” joined the BJP in November last year, citing the AAP’s drift from its core values. Meanwhile, Raaj Kumar Anand has been fielded from Patel Nagar. Additionally, MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar, who switched from AAP to BJP, will contest from his Chhatarpur constituency.
Several sitting BJP MLAs, including Leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Mahawar, and Jitender Mahajan, will re-contest from Rohini, Vishwas Nagar, Ghonda, and Rohtas Nagar, respectively. Former Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay will run from Malviya Nagar, while Manoj Shokeen has been fielded from Nangloi Jat.
The AAP has already announced its candidates for all 70 Assembly constituencies in Delhi, while the Congress has named candidates for 47 seats so far.
