Delhi polls: BJP releases second list with 29 names

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, BJP MP Anurag questioned chief minister Atishi for failing to follow lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena’s request for a special session to table the reports

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday evening announced its second list of candidates, naming 29 contestants, for the Delhi Assembly elections that are scheduled for February 5. Prominent faces among the list include former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Kapil Mishra, who resigned in 2017 and has since turned into a bête noire of the AAP, from the Karawal Nagar constituency that he won in 2015.

BJP’s Anurag Thakur attacked the AAP in a press conference on Saturday. (PTI)

Delhi BJP secretary Harish Khurana, who is the son of former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana, will contest from Moti Nagar, former Congress MLA Neeraj Basoya, who joined the BJP during the Lok Sabha elections, was allotted the Kasturba Nagar seat and Delhi BJP temple cell (Mandir Prakoshth) chief Karnail Singh will take on AAP’s Satyendar Jain in the Shakur Basti constituency.

With the second list, the BJP has so far announced 58 candidates for the 70 seats, with leaders saying the rest of the names will be announced in the next few days.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said all the candidates BJP has announced so far have been picked on the “winnability” factor as well as their popularity in the area. “We have so far announced 58 candidates, which will help us intensify our preparations for the assembly elections. The second list also has the right mix of experience and popularity which is a winning combination as they will complement the BJP’s organisational efforts in the elections. We are confident that they will defeat the Aam Aadmi Party and help the BJP form its government in Delhi,” said Sachdeva.

According to the list, the BJP has retained its sitting MLA from Laxmi Nagar, Abhay Verma, but dropped Mohan Singh Bist, its sitting MLA from Karawal Nagar. The BJP currently has seven MLAs in Delhi. Among them, the party retained five and dropped two.

The party has also fielded councillor Neelam Pahalwan from Najafgarh, the constituency of former AAP minister Kailash Gahlot, who quit the AAP and joined the BJP in November 2024.

Some others among the 29 candidates are former MLA Pawan Sharma, who has been fielded from Uttam Nagar, which he won in 2013. Former MLA Pradyuman Rajput has been fielded from Dwarka, which he won in 2013, and former South Delhi mayor Shyam Sharma has been fielded from Hari Nagar.

The list of 29 candidates is a mix of several sitting and former councillors, former MLAs, and five women candidates.

Assembly elections for the 70 seats of Delhi are scheduled to be held on February 5 and the votes will be counted on February 8.