New Delhi
The Congress will field Romesh Sabharwal, a first timer, against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi seat, the party announced late Monday night. Sabharwal is a former NSUI president.
The party also named six others in the list, including Raminder Singh Bamrah from Tilak Nagar, former DU student leader Rocky Tuseed from Rajender Nagar; Pramod Kumar Yadav from Badarpur; Amareesh Gautam from Kondli; Bhisham Sharma from Ghonda and Arbind Singh from Karawal Nagar.
Congress had released its first list of 54 candidates on Saturday and had announced that it will be tying up with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for four of the remaining.
Party leaders said that RJD may be given Burari, Kirari, Uttam Nagar and Palam seats.
The party may also name its old warhorse Mukesh Sharma, who is also a party spokesperson, from the Vikaspuri seat.
A three-time legislator Gautam had left the Congress to join the BJP in 2017 and is yet to be formally inducted back into the party. Posters advertising Gautam as the Congress candidate from the Kondli constituency had came up in the area on Monday evening.
Gautam confirmed his candidature from Kondli and said that he will file his nomination papers on Tuesday. “I had written to the Congress party four-five days back expressing my desire to join back. I had resigned from the BJP on Twitter. I had a problem with the BJP ideology and as soon as I realised this I made a comeback,” said Gautam, who was at the party office till late Monday night.
{{/usCountry}}Gautam confirmed his candidature from Kondli and said that he will file his nomination papers on Tuesday. “I had written to the Congress party four-five days back expressing my desire to join back. I had resigned from the BJP on Twitter. I had a problem with the BJP ideology and as soon as I realised this I made a comeback,” said Gautam, who was at the party office till late Monday night.
{{/usCountry}}Considered an influential leader in the east Delhi, Gautam has been a three-time MLA, twice from Patparganj and once from Kondli.
The party has also reposed its faith in its four-time legislator Mukesh Sharma from Vikaspuri. After fighting his first election in 1993 from the then Hastsal constituency, when Sharma became the youngest legislator in the Delhi assembly, he continued his term till 2003.
In 2008, after the delimitation of the assembly constituencies, Sharma was fielded from the Uttam Nagar seat and became the MLA. Sharma confirmed that he will be filing his nominations from Vikaspuri on Tuesday.
“I had told the party that I will follow their instruction and will fight from whichever seat they deem fit for me,” Sharma said.
Senior leaders privy to developments said Sharma was earlier being considered for the New Delhi constituency, but in view of his past record in West Delhi it was decided that Sharma will be contesting from there.
“I will be leaving from my house in the morning (on Tuesday) and will be taking out an ‘Ashirwad rally’ around the area. The nomination will be filed at 2pm,” Sharma said.