BJP announces candidates for 13 municipal wards

After much deliberation on whether to field former MLAs who represented the municipal wards before the 2013 Delhi Assembly polls, the BJP on Sunday finally announced its candidates, including three former MLAs for the bypolls in the 13 municipal wards to be held on May 15.

Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay announced the list of candidates for the 13 municipal wards. The party has fielded Anil Sinha from Quamruddin Nagar, Bhupender Mohan Bhandari from Shalimarbagh North, Nitin Tiwari from Ballimaran, Krishan Gehlot from Nawada, Sunil Jindal from Vikas Nagar, Ashok Sharma from Matiala, Nitin Sharma from Nanakpura, Sudesh Tokas from Munirka, Ishwar Singh Prdhan from Bhati and Sunil Bidhuri from Tehkhand.

The BJP has fielded three former MLAs, Mahender Nagpal and Jintender Singh Shunty from Wajirpur and Jhilmil wards respectively. Vinod Kumar Binny, who was elected MLA from Laxmi Nagar constituency on AAP ticket in 2013 and had later switched over to the BJP, has been fielded by the party from Khichripur ward. “Party leadership believed that these leaders are best candidate for these wards as they had represented it earlier and they are strong candidate,” a Delhi BJP leader said.

Three former MLAs, Ram Kishan, Rajesh Gehlot and Anil Sharma, were not made party candidate after they informed the party that they are not keen to contest the bypolls. “Anil Sharma refused to contest the elections due to family issues and the other two are committed that they will ensure the victory of the BJP candidate in municipal ward they represented earlier. Party leadership, however, asked other three former MLAs to contest the bypolls,” said a party insider.

Mr Upadhyay said the party organisation will strongly fight these bypolls and the result will help end the politics of lies, which has been going on for over a year now.

“In the last Assembly elections, people of Delhi elected the Kejriwal government, trusting it to give alternate politics, but this government has not given anything except hollow promises to the people,” Mr Upadhyay added. He expressed the confidence that the people of Delhi will reject the negative politics of the AAP government.