New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI) The BJP on Wednesday declared former mayors Harsh Malhotra and Yogendra Chandolia as the candidates from East Delhi and North West Delhi seats, respectively for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, dropping the party’s sitting MPs Gautam Gambhir and Hans Raj Hans.
With this, the BJP has named candidates for all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, dropping six incumbents. The party on Wednesday announced its second list of 72 candidates for the general elections.
Both Malhotra and Chandolia are general secretaries of BJP’s Delhi unit.
Malhotra, former mayor of erstwhile East Delhi Municipal Corporation, has replaced cricketer-turned-politician Gambhir, who earlier this month urged BJP chief JP Nadda to relieve him of political duties citing his commitments to cricket.
Chandolia, former mayor of erstwhile North Delhi Municipal Corporation, has been fielded from North West Delhi (reserved) seat, as the party has dropped Hans who is a famous Punjabi Sufi singer.
In its first list, the BJP announced the candidates on five of the seven Lok Sabha seats. Except for Manoj Tiwari, two-time MP from North East Delhi, the BJP has replaced six of its sitting MPs with new names.
This time the BJP has shown confidence on its state unit leaders rather than going for big names, party leaders said.
The BJP has fielded all the three general secretaries of Delhi unit in the Lok Sabha polls. Earlier, the lone woman general secretary of Delhi BJP Kamaljeet Sehrawat was declared as the candidate from West Delhi constituency.
BJP veteran late Sushma Swaraj’s daughter and state secretary Bansuri Swaraj was declared candidate from New Delhi seat replacing two-time MP and Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi.
State BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, in a post on X, congratulated Malhotra and Chandolia on being declared as party candidates, saying Delhi is ready to make Narendra Modi the prime minister for the third time in a row by ensuring victory of the party on all seven Lok Sabha seats.
Malhotra, 58, is a law graduate from Delhi University. He belongs to Punjabi community that has a sizeable presence in the East Delhi constituency.
Malhotra’s rival is AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar, a reserved category MLA from Kondli Assembly segment in the East Delhi parliamentary seat.
He became a councillor from Welcome ward in 2012 and gradually rose in the ranks to become mayor of East Delhi in 2015.
Chandolia, a prominent Dalit face of Delhi BJP, is a DU graduate.
The 61-year-old BJP leader fought his first municipal elections in 2002 from Karol Bagh and emerged victorious. He tasted civic poll victories in 2007 and 2012 as well.
The BJP will have fight against the INDIA bloc partners the AAP and the Congress in Delhi for the upcoming polls. Under a seat-sharing agreement, the AAP is contesting four seats — East Delhi, New Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi.
The Congress is yet to announce its candidates on remaining three — North East Delhi, Chandni Chowk and North West Delhi seats. PTI VIT KVK KVK
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