Delhi Elections: BJP, Cong Likely to Announce Candidates on 17 Jan

The Congress and BJP met on Thursday to finalise the candidates for the upcoming Delhi polls.

Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on 8 February.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Congress and the BJP are likely to announce the list of candidates for the upcoming Delhi polls on Friday, 17 January, reports said.

The Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting is currently underway at the party's Interim President Sonia Gandhi's residence to discuss candidates for the 8 February elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly, ANI reported.

On Thursday, Congress Delhi unit President Subash Chopra said “We have discussed most of the seats and the list will be out soon.”

When asked if senior leaders will contest the polls in the national capital, Chopra said, “This will be decided by the high command.”

The BJP’s Central Election Committee also finalised the party’s candidates after consultation with top leaders at the party’s headquarters on Thursday, reported PTI.

Its top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, president JP Nadda and others, held consultation at the BJP headquarters over the names of the probable candidates for the Delhi polls. Delhi BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari was also part of the meeting.

Meanwhile, Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday had named all its candidates.

The BJP had won only three assembly seats in the previous assembly elections, while the AAP had won 67.

The elections will see a triangular contest between the ruling AAP, BJP and the Congress. Political commentators predict that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP and BJP are likely to be the main rivals in most of the seats, with the Congress emerging as the third player.

Kejriwal is relying on populist schemes, like free electricity and water, free rides for women in the government-run buses, and expansion of the education and health infrastructure in the capital. The BJP, meanwhile, is eying to wrest power from Kejriwal through its recent decisions such as granting ownership rights to people living in unauthorised colonies and the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The saffron party has also accused the AAP government of failing to fulfil most of its promises and has tried to corner it over violence during anti-CAA protests in the city.

(With inputs from ANI & PTI.)