BJP candidates for Delhi to be named soon

NEW DELHI: BJP is likely to announce the names of its

candidates

for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in a day or two.


The election committee of Delhi BJP has shortlisted three probable candidates on each seat for the consideration of the central parliamentary board, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. A source said the party might also take into account the possibility of a joint opposition while finalising the names.

Apart from the sitting MPs, the core committee of Delhi leaders has suggested the names of two sitting MLAs — Vijender Gupta and Om Prakash Sharma, three former MPs — Lal Bihari Tiwari, Anita Arya and Ashok Pradhan, and four former MLAs — Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Brahm Singh Tanwar, Mohan Singh Bisht and Pawan Sharma. General secretary Rajesh Bhatia, former mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat, BJP’s Delhi in-charge Shyam Jaju, senior leader Sudhanshu Mittal and spokesperson Aman Sinha are also part of the list. The entry of former cricketer Gautam Gambhir into BJP on Friday has led to the speculation that he may be the party’s celebrity candidate in the capital.

The sitting MPs are Union minister Harsh Vardhan in Chandni Chowk,

Udit Raj

in North West Delhi, Meenakshi Lekhi in New Delhi, Parvesh Sahib Singh in West Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri in South, Mahesh Girri in East and Manoj Tiwari in North East.

A source said a consensus was reached following several meetings between the Delhi leaders and the representatives of the national unit over the past couple of days. A group of the Delhi leaders met BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday with a list of candidates but they were told to go back to the drawing board after it was found that Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari was not taken into confidence. Shah also refused to discuss the list after getting to know that at least two leaders seeking tickets were present in the meetings.

According to senior party leaders, the names were finally shortlisted following several rounds of interactions of former MLAs, councillors, prominent party leaders with defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP’s Lok Sabha election in-charge for Delhi, and co in-charge Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya.

“The two central leaders not only took feedback on the performance and accessibility of the sitting MPs but also asked the delegates to suggest alternative names,” said a senior leader.

While some sitting MPs faced stiff resistance due to their inaccessibility and rude behaviour, a few others got mixed response, he added. “Senior leaders have prepared a dossier on each sitting MP, which will be discussed by the central parliamentary board before finalising the names.”