Delhi BJP poll panel submits list of 25-30 probables for 7 Lok Sabha seats to national leadership
New Delhi, February 28
The election committee of Delhi BJP has submitted a list of 25-30 probables to the national leadership for the seven Lok Sabha seats in the National Capital, party leaders said on Wednesday.
The names of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and former leader Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri Swaraj were among the probables from the New Delhi seat apart from sitting MP Meenakshi Lekhi, a senior Delhi BJP official said.
“The list of probables was discussed in a meeting of the national leaders, including BJP chief J P Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and state president Virendra Sachdeva at the party’s headquarters on DDU Marg,” he said.
The central election committee of the BJP is scheduled to meet on Thursday and there is a likelihood of announcement of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, he said.
This time the party may declare tickets for Delhi earlier than expected if a decision is taken to replace the sitting MPs. There is a buzz that at least three-four of the present seven MPs or all of them may be replaced by the party, another senior BJP leader said.
The list of probables, prepared in a day-long exercise in the districts on Monday, is dominated by several serving and former office-bearers of the Delhi BJP. Several members of the election committee were also among the probables, he said.
Except for East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir and North West Delhi MP Han Raj Hans, the remaining five—Ramesh Bidhuri (South Delhi), Meenakshi Lekhi (New Delhi), Harsh Vardhan (Chandni Chowk) and Parvesh Verma (West Delhi) — are representing their Lok Sabha constituencies for the second time in a row.
The names of all the sitting Delhi MPs featured among the probables for tickets this time also.
During the feedback exercise, local leaders at district level suggested names of probables, including Delhi BJP vice president Kapil Mishra, Ghonda MLA Ajay Mahawar, and Delhi BJP vice president Dinesh Pratap from North East Delhi. The probables from East Delhi are state president Virendra Sachdeva, Delhi BJP treasurer Vishnu Mittal and Delhi BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra.
Delhi BJP OBC Morcha president Sunil Yadav and former Delhi BJP general secretary Rajesh Bhatia are probables from the New Delhi seat. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, MLA from Badarpur in South Delhi, is one of the probables from the same Lok Sabha seat.
Former north Delhi mayor Ravindra Gupta, MLA and former Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta are probables from the Chandni Chowk seat. Delhi BJP general secretary Kamaljeet Sehrawat’s name was suggested for the West Delhi seat.
For the reserved North West Delhi constituency, the list of probables included Delhi BJP general secretary Yogendra Chandolia, national vice president Dushyant Gautam, Pritha Harit, and Delhi BJP SC Morcha president Mohan Lal Gihara.
The Lok Sabha polls, expected in April-May, on the seven seats in Delhi will be a direct contest between the BJP and the candidates of INDIA bloc partners AAP and Congress.
AAP has fielded Sahiram Pehelwan from South Delhi, Somnath Bharti from New Delhi, Kuldeep Kumar from East Delhi, and Mahabal Mishra from the West Delhi seats. The Congress is yet to announce its candidates from Chandni Chowk, North East and North West constituencies it got in the seat-sharing agreement with AAP.