NEW DELHI: The Delhi unit of BJP is putting up a united front, even if it is for the sake of appearances, in the run up to the polls on April 10. In fact, its candidates do not have time for bickering.The final list of candidates has still left many disgruntled. Some of the candidates are new to the constituency from they have got the tickets, including Delhi unit president Dr Harshvardhan. Having contested assembly elections from East Delhi all his life, he is now fighting from Chand chowk.
Party spokeswoman Meenakshi Lekhi pipped heavyweight contenders like Dr Subrahmaniam Swamy and journalist MJ Akbar to contest from New Delhi. Maheish Girri, an Art of Living proponent, was a surprise candidate from East Delhi. Former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma's son, Parvesh, got a ticket from West Delhi. The BJP got two outsiders to contest from the North West (reserved) and North East seats - Dalit leader Udit Raj and Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari. Only the South Delhi c candidate, Ramesh Bhiduri, is a local.
Though it is a mixed bag of candidates, the BJP is hoping to win four to five seats in the capital. In 2009, the party had failed to win even a single seat from Delhi with the Congress sweeping all seven constituencies. "This time is different," asserts senior leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who is mentoring Delhi unit of BJP "It is like the 1977 wave which will tide over all differences within the party."
ccording to Malhotra, the party will win all seven seats this time. However, another Delhi leader sounds a word of caution. "Things can change if there is strategic voting by the Muslims, who constitute 19% of Delhi's population," he says. In some of the constituencies, like North East and Chandni Chowk, concentration Muslims is higher.
Harshvardhan, the Chandni Chowk candidate, is confident that his goodwill will help him sailBSE -0.63 % through. He is pitted against sitting MP Kapil Sibal and former journalist Ashutosh of AAP.
