As many as 100 candidates turned up on Saturday, the last day of filing nomination, taking the total number of candidates in fray for the Lok Sabha polls from Delhi to 228.
However, there are only 30 women among the candidates. The Congress, BJP and the BSP have emerged as the three main political parties who have fielded their candidates from all the seven constituencies. There are also 61 Independent candidates in fray.
Congress’s Jai Prakash Aggarwal (63) and Ramesh Kumar (53), who replaced Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar on Northeast Delhi and South Delhi seats, also filed their papers. Among other heavyweights, BSP’s Mohd Yunus and Kanwar Singh Tanwar filed their nominations.
The youngest candidates in fray are two 25-year-olds, Deepak Kumar (Rashtriya Janadhikar Party) and Ombir Singh (Independent), while the eldest is Chand Ram (86) from Northwest Delhi who is contesting as an Independent.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit visited South Delhi to accompany Ramesh Kumar, Sajjan Kumar’s brother, for filing his nomination.
“Sajjanji has done a lot for the people of this area. Vote for the Congress to honour his work,” said Dikshit, as the brand ambassador for Kumar. “Voting for Rameshji would be like voting for me.”
{{/usCountry}}“Sajjanji has done a lot for the people of this area. Vote for the Congress to honour his work,” said Dikshit, as the brand ambassador for Kumar. “Voting for Rameshji would be like voting for me.”
{{/usCountry}}While Sajjan Kumar maintained distance apparently not wanting to hog the limelight, his brother made no attempt to hide his USP — his brother. “I am here because of my elder brother. I have worked with him for 30 years in all his campaigns,” said Kumar, who was the MLA from Shahbad Daulatpur in 1998.
Dikshit also turned up in in a show of support to Aggarwal.