Former Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Bidhuri will be the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) candidate for the Kalkaji constituency in the upcoming Delhi assembly election, with the declaration of his candidature setting the stage for a contest involving three high-profile names.
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Kalkaji is currently represented by Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi, who won this seat in the 2020 assembly poll.
The Congress has given a ticket to former AAP member Alka Lamba, who now leads the All India Mahila Congress.
In 2020, Atishi defeated BJP's Dharambir to become the Kalkaji legislator. The seat went to AAP in 2015 as well.
Meanwhile, Ramesh Bidhuri's nomination marks his political comeback after the BJP denied him a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections, held between April and June last year. Bidhuri, who won from the South Delhi constituency in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, was replaced by Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, who would retain the seat for the saffron party.
In September 2023, Ramesh Bidhuri, who is also a former three-term MLA of the Tughlakabad assembly constituency, stoked a major controversy when he hurled alleged communal slurs at then Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) lawmaker Danish Ali.
{{/usCountry}}In September 2023, Ramesh Bidhuri, who is also a former three-term MLA of the Tughlakabad assembly constituency, stoked a major controversy when he hurled alleged communal slurs at then Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) lawmaker Danish Ali.
{{/usCountry}}The outburst led to the BJP sending him a show-cause notice.
Also Read | Ramesh Bidhuri apologises for remarks against Danish Ali
The Delhi assembly polls, likely to be held in February, will be a three-way battle of the three major parties-- the AAP, BJP and Congress. The AAP has governed the national capital since December 2013, with its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal as chief minister. However, Arvind Kejriwal resigned in September last year, paving the way for Atishi to succeed him in the top post.