Parvesh Verma vs Kejriwal: BJP out with first list of 29 for Delhi elections

The BJP on Saturday announced its first list of 29 candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, fielding two-term Lok Sabha MP Parvesh Verma against former Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi seat.

In the constituency, Kejriwal is now pitted against sons of two former CMs — Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit (son of late CM Sheila Dikshit) and Parvesh (son of former CM Sahib Singh Verma).

In Kalkaji, where AAP has fielded Chief Minister Atishi and the Congress its women’s wing chief Alka Lamba, the BJP has trusted former MP Ramesh Bidhuri.

Known for courting controversies, Bidhuri has been an old BJP warhorse in Delhi. He defeated AAP’s Raghav Chadha in the 2019 Lok Sabha election from South Delhi.

Bidhuri had also represented the South Delhi seat in Parliament in 2014. He had previously served three terms as an MLA from Tughlakabad. The BJP has renominated sitting MLAs — Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijender Gupta (Rohini), OP Sharma (Vishwas Nagar), Ajay Mahawar (Ghonda) and Jitendra Mahajan (Rohtash Nagar). However, it has dropped Gandhi Nagar MLA Anil Bajpai and instead fielded former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Lovely, who had switched sides last year. Bajpai had defeated Lovely from the seat in 2020.

There are eight turncoats in the BJP list with prominent being former AAP ministers Kailash Gahlot and Raj Kumar Anand and former minister in the Sheila Dikshit government Raj Kumar Anand.

Former AAP leaders — Chhatarpur MLA Kartar Singh and ex-MLA ND Sharma — have also been nominated by the BJP. Former three-term Congress MLA from Jangpura Tarvinder Singh Marwah will take on AAP’s Manish Sisodia in Jangpura. Marwah had joined the BJP in 2022.

Signalling the importance of the Delhi elections, the BJP has fielded national office-bearers — general secretary Dushyant Gautam from the Karol Bagh reserved seat; Ashish Sood from Janakpuri and national secretary and former MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa from Rajouri Garden. Sirsa had won the seat in 2015.

Former Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay will contest from Malviya Nagar. Rekha Gupta, national vice-president of the BJP Mahila Morcha, will contest from Shalimar Bagh.