New Delhi: Ending suspense over names of candidates, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday released its second list for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
The second list, comprising 29 candidates, has a couple of big names which include Delhi BJP Vice-President Kapil Mishra, Delhi BJP Secretary Harish Khurana.
Kapil Mishra has been fielded from Karawal Nagar constituency while Harish Khurana will contest from the Moti Nagar Assembly seat.
Both have been loud and vocal in criticising and calling out the ‘flawed policies and failed promises’ of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Other prominent names include Abhay Verma, the incumbent legislator from Laxmi Nagar. He has been retained on account of good performance.
According to reports, the party has dropped some serving legislators from key constituencies like Chandni Chowk, Shakur Basti on account of ‘poor public connect’.
With the announcement of 29 names in the first as well as second list, there are 12 more nominees yet to be announced for election to the 70-member Assembly.
According to party insiders, the rest of 12 names will also be announced in the next few days after the BJP brass gives the go-ahead on their proposed candidature.
For the hotly contested battle, Kejriwal’s AAP is the only party which has declared the names of all 70 candidates. Congress has released three lists of candidates, comprising a total of 48 candidates.
With the BJP releasing its second list, its tally of candidates has reached 58.
Some constituencies which will see high-stakes poll battles include New Delhi constituency where AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP’s Parvesh Verma and Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit will lock horns.
Kalkaji is another constituency, which will be keenly watched by pollsters and political watchers.
Congress’ Alka Lamba and BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri are pitted against AAP CM Atishi, seeking a fresh election from the constituency.
–IANS