With Delhi assembly elections just weeks away, the BJP has released its first phase list of candidates. The party has fielded 4 current MLAs, 2 former MPs, and 8 former MLAs in this list. Former West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma will contest against AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi Assembly seat. Former South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri will face Chief Minister Atishi in Kalkaji.
The list also includes 4 former Delhi ministers: Kailash Gehlot, Raj Kumar Anand, Arvinder Singh Lovely, and Rajkumar Chauhan. Gehlot and Anand served in the previous AAP government, while Lovely and Chauhan held key portfolios during Sheila Dikshit’s government from 2003 to 2013. Lovely will replace Anil Kumar Vajpayee, the sitting BJP MLA from Gandhi Nagar, who initially contested on an AAP ticket in 2015 before switching to BJP and winning in 2020.
Kailash Gehlot’s constituency has been shifted from Najafgarh to Bijwasan. Raj Kumar Anand will contest from Patel Nagar, Lovely from Gandhi Nagar, and Chauhan from Mangolpuri.
The Delhi assembly elections are set to take place in February. While the election date remains unannounced, preparations are already in full swing.