With little over two weeks left for the Delhi Election, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to ensure it regains the national capital after a gap of 27 years. For the party, which is using its entire might to bring down the troubled AAP, the focus is on fielding the best candidate in each constituency, with winnability being the priority.
The party, which has declared 59 of the 70 candidates for the polls, is now focusing on taking back the Greater Kailash seat, where sitting MLA and AAP strongman Saurabh Bhardwaj contests. The saffron party is reportedly planning to field a strong woman candidate against Bhardwaj and the top contenders include former Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Meenakshi Lekhi, according to The Indian Express.
While Irani is still considered a strong face of the party and a charismatic leader who can bring down any formidable opponent, Lekhi, a former MP, has been asked by the party to hit the ground much in the state before the talks for Greater Kailash began.
The state unit of the BJP has requested the central leadership for a strong face like Irani and the latter is likely to consider the request, The Indian Express quoted a party source.
However, Irani has a huge technical hurdle that will affect her candidature, which is the mandatory voter requirement. Since Irani is a voter of Amethi, she would need to get her vote transferred to Delhi to contest the polls. This has not happened and the chances are low as the last date to apply for the same was January 7. Though Irani has not responded to the rumours, her team has rubbished the candidature reports, indicating that she is not in the race.
That leaves Lekhi as a frontrunner. But she is reportedly keen to contest from Delhi Cantonment, which is why the state unit pitched Irani's name. However, many leaders also feel bringing in an outsider, irrespective of their popularity, will not be a wise choice, from the perspectives of both voters and party workers.
The other names doing the round are former Mayor Arti Mehra and Shikha Rai, a sitting councillor from the Greater Kailash ward. While Mehra is a resident of the constituency, Rai had lost to Bhardwaj by over 16,000 votes during the last Assembly elections.
The Greater Kailash is mostly an urban constituency, with pockets of unauthorised colonies. Formed in 2008, the first MLA was from BJP, Vijay Kumar Malhotra who won with 53 per cent votes. However, ever since 2013, AAP has had it in its kitty when Bhardwaj struck a hat trick.
Congress has announced Garvit Singhvi as the party’s candidate.
