Delhi Assembly Elections: BJP Announces Second List of Candidates

New Delhi:
With less than a month to go for the Delhi Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its second list of 29 candidates, intensifying the political battle in the capital.

The list includes Delhi BJP Vice President Kapil Mishra, a former AAP MLA, who will contest from Karawal Nagar. Mishra, who joined the BJP in 2019, previously represented the same constituency as a member of AAP. Mishra had stirred controversy in 2020 by referring to anti-CAA protest sites as “mini-Pakistans” and issuing an ultimatum to the police to clear protestors.

Prominent names in the list also include Harsh Khurana, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, who will represent the BJP in the upcoming elections. Karnail Singh has been fielded from Shakur Basti, where he will take on AAP’s former minister Satyendar Jain.

Notably, Parvesh Verma, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, had already been named in the party’s first list. The first list also included prominent figures such as former MP Ramesh Bidhuri and ex-Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely.

Neelam Krishan Pahalwan, who won as a BJP councillor from Dichaon Kalan ward with the highest votes, will contest from Najafgarh, previously held by AAP leader Kailash Gahlot. Gahlot, now with the BJP, has been fielded from Bijwasan.

With this second list, the BJP has announced candidates for 58 of Delhi’s 70 seats. So far, seven women candidates have been named, with five included in the latest announcement. Only one sitting MLA, Mohan Singh Bisht, has been dropped to accommodate Kapil Mishra in Karawal Nagar.

The BJP’s list signals an aggressive strategy to challenge AAP in key constituencies, making this election a high-stakes battle for Delhi.