West Delhi race hots up, advocates in fray

The fight in West Delhi parliamentary constituency is all set to warm up with two leading city advocates in the fray for candidature. The Congress has advocates KTS Tulsi and RK Anand vying to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the seat. Anuradha Mukherjee reports.

The fight in West Delhi parliamentary constituency is all set to warm up with two leading city advocates in the fray for candidature. The Congress has advocates KTS Tulsi and RK Anand vying to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the seat.

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While Anand’s name was forwarded as one of the likely candidates from the seat by the screening committee, Tulsi's name was apparently being pushed by the party high command.

The national leadership was apparently keen that Tulsi contested from the parliamentary seat that has a good mix of Sikh and Punjabi votes. "I had offered my services to the party in a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. I have been approached by the Congress, and I am honoured," Tulsi said.

This new development could virtually thwart the electoral dreams of two of the legislators from the area - Mahabal Mishra, who is said to represent the migrant Purabiya (from eastern UP and Bihar) vote, and Mukesh Sharma, who is supposed to have a strong base among Jat and Brahmin rural voters.

"Sajjan Kumar's name has also been kept as an alternative by the Congress from this seat. He is a strong Jat contender," said a party source.

The other parliamentary constituency that is witnessing politicians clambering for a berth is Northeast Delhi. While Muslim politicians from the city and outside are vying for this particular constituency, veterans like Jagdish Tytler and former Delhi minister Narender Nath are also looking to be rehabilitated from this seat.