Delhi Polls: Congress Releases First List Of 54 Candidates, Fields Alka Lamba From Chandni Chowk

After Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Congress on Saturday released its first list of 54 candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls. According to the list announced by the party, ex-Aam Aadmi Party MLA Alka Lamba gets ticket from Chandni Chowk whereas Adarsh Shastri, the grandson of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was dropped by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the candidate list and joined the Congress in the presence of party leaders PC Chacko and Subhash Chopra today, gets ticket from Dwarka. 

Congress election campaign committee chairman Kirti Azad's wife Poonam Azad will contest from Sangam Vihar. Former Delhi minister Ashok Kumar Walia will contest from Krishna Nagar constituency, Haroon Yusuf from Ballimaran, Mateen Ahamad from Seelampur, the party announced. The Congress has not decided its candidate against Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi seat. The party has fielded Lakshman Rawat against Deputy CM Manish Sisodia from Patparganj.

The Bharatiya Janata Party earlier, released its first list of 57 candidates, which included four former mayors, and many councilors.The names of all three BJP MLAs, including Leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta, former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma’s brother and former mayor Master Azad Singh, as well as former AAP legislator Kapil Mishra figured in the first list. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari’s candidature has not been announced in the first list of candidates.

Also Read: AAP MLA from Dwarka Adarsh Shastri, who was denied ticket by party, joins Congress

Releasing the list, Tiwari said Gupta will contest from Rohini seat, Azad Singh from Mundka and Mishra from Model Town as he expressed confidence that the party will end its more than two decades of stint in opposition and come back to power on its “positive” agenda. The list does not include nomination against AAP leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Tiwari, who was joined by Union minister Prakash Javadekar, party’s poll in-charge for Delhi, said the party will soon name its remaining candidates.

The party has fielded Khushi Ram from Ambedkar Nagar, Ravindra Gupta from Matia Mahal and Yogender Chandolia from Karol Bagh, all former mayors. It has also given ticket to its national secretary R P Singh, who will contest from Rajender Nagar. The list has 11 candidates from scheduled castes for reserved seats, four women nominations and seven from Poorvanchal, a region comprising eastern UP and Bihar. Most of the candidates announced on Friday were also nominated by the BJP in 2013 and 2015 assembly polls.

Also Read: Delhi Polls: AAP Leaders Kailash Gahlot, Atishi Marlena File Nominations

The polls to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 8 and results will be declared on February 11. Tiwari said the names were finalised at BJP’s central election committee meeting on Thursday night. The ruling AAP has already announced its candidates for all 70 seats. The Congress is yet to announce names of its candidates. The BJP’s list also included six sitting and thirteen former councilors of the three municipal corporations in the national capital.

Among several AAP leaders, who have joined the BJP, only two former MLAs have been given tickets by the saffron party, with names like Devender Sehrawat and Guggan Singh missing from the list. BJP sources said three seats—Kalkaji, Hari Nagar and Rajouri Garden—may be given to its ally Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD). Rajouri Garden seat is currently held by Manjinder Singh Sirsa, an Akali leader who had won on the BJP ticket.

The BJP had won only three seats in the previous assembly elections, while the AAP had won 67. Delhi is set for another triangular contest between AAP-BJP-Congress.

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