In Delhi, BJP announces 5 names for LS seats, drops 4 sitting MPs

East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir posted on X that he has requested party national president to relieve him of political duties as he wanted to focus on cricket

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opted for a fresh look for Delhi, choosing four new faces as it announced its candidates for five out of the seven Lok Sabha seats in the Capital ahead of the general elections this year.

The five BJP candidates for Delhi announced on Saturday: (clockwise from top left) Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Manoj Tiwari, Praveen Khandelwal, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, and Bansuri Swaraj. (ANI)

In an announcement on Saturday evening, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde revealed the four new names — in place of the sitting members of Parliament who will be dropped by the party — for its South Delhi, New Delhi, West Delhi and Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituencies.

The development came hours after East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir requested BJP  national president JP Nadda to relieve him of political duties as he wanted to focus on his cricket commitments.

For South Delhi, the party has chosen Ramvir Singh Bidhuri — the leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly — over sitting MP Ramesh Bidhuri.

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, a four-time MLA from the Badarpur assembly constituency, was appointed the leader of the opposition in 2020. Ramesh Bidhuri, the sitting MP, has represented the South Delhi seat since 2014.

For South Delhi, the party has chosen Ramvir Singh Bidhuri — the leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly — over sitting MP Ramesh Bidhuri. (HT graphics)

“To fulfil the resolve of a developed India, every BJP worker like me is working hard with all our heart, mind and wealth to achieve the target of 400+ seats (for the BJP) in the 2024 elections,” he said.

In New Delhi, the BJP chose Delhi BJP secretary Bansuri Swaraj — daughter of late Union minister Sushma Swaraj — over Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi.

A lawyer in the Supreme Court, Bansuri Swaraj was appointed the Delhi BJP secretary last year. “We will work hard to ensure that we win over 400 seats. Each worker of the party will go to all parts of the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat. The people of the country have unbreakable faith in every policy of the Modi government,” Swaraj said.

In Chandni Chowk, the BJP has nominated Praveen Khandelwal — secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders — over former Union minister Harsh Vardhan.

Meanwhile, in West Delhi, the party picked Kamaljeet Sehrawat, the former mayor of the erstwhile South Delhi Municipal Corporation, over sitting MP Parvesh Verma.

The party is yet to announce its candidates for the East Delhi and North West Delhi constituencies.

Actor-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari, the North East Delhi MP, is the only person so far that the BJP has retained to represent his constituency in the Capital. A former Delhi BJP president, Tiwari is one of the most popular leaders of the Purvanchal community, a key voting bloc in Delhi.

Earlier on Saturday, Gambhir posted on social media website X that he has requested Nadda to relieve him of political duties as he wanted to focus on cricket commitments. Similarly, Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) MP Jayant Sinha also requested Nadda to relieve him so he could focus on combating global climate change.

The BJP won all seven seats in Delhi during the last two general elections, with the party receiving more than 50% of the vote share in all seats in 2019. However, the last two elections were a triangular contest — this time around, the BJP is set to face off against an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-Congress combine in the elections.

The AAP has already announced candidates for the four seats it is contesting (East, New Delhi, South and West Delhi). A battle between two sitting legislators is set to play out in South Delhi, with BJP’s Ramvir Singh Bidhuri contesting against AAP’s Sahi Ram Pahalwan (Tughlakabad assembly constituency).

In New Delhi, the contest will be between two advocates — Bansuri Swaraj, and AAP legislator Somnath Bharti, who too is a lawyer. In West Delhi, Sehrawat will face off against AAP’s Mahabal Mishra, who earlier won the seat on a Congress ticket.

Meanwhile, the Congress said that it will announce its candidates for the North West, North East and Chandni Chowk seats in the coming days.

Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely told HT that his party may announce its candidates for the three seats under their quota next week.

He said, “The BJP government has failed on all fronts, and to avoid the anger of the voters, the government is changing the MPs and fielding new faces. That the BJP had to change four of the five names (announced so far) means that the Centre has accepted its failure.”

Meanwhile, senior AAP leader Atishi said that BJP MPs do not have any commitment towards the people. “BJP first gives tickets to incompetent individuals, they do not work for five years, and when the public gets angry, then the BJP changes tickets,” she said.