For a party that is hoping to form the next government, the BJP is ironically mired in different conflicts that threaten to stem its tide in the Capital city.

Polling for Delhi is scheduled in less than a month from now on April 10. But the party has not been able to announce any candidates so far. Worse still, even for the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting on March 13, there is no consensus yet on candidates for any of the seven seats in the Capital.

The BJP’s indecision is driven by two main factors. One is that the BJP is stuck in a time-warp and its present leadership is a throwback to the era when Delhi was principally a Punjabi and Bania-dominated city.

The city’s demographics have changed with migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. And after the demise of Sahib Singh Verma, the party has not yet been able to produce a strong Jat or Gujjar leader.

To make matters worse, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has brought in a fresh momentum and faces while the BJP is left struggling with the old guard. The party lost all seven seats in 2009 and fears that even Modi’s popularity may not be able to translate into votes if it does not project fresh faces.

For the purpose, the BJP is considering popular singer and actor from Bihar, Manoj Tiwari, for the East Delhi constituency which they lost to Shiela Dikshit’s son Sandeep Dikshit last time. Despite the dip in Congress’s popularity, Sandeep Dikshit is not a pushover and AAP has made the contest even more interesting by fielding Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson and Rajmohan Gandhi from this seat.

Dalit leader Udit Raj is being considered for the reserved constituency of West Delhi. Other aspirants for this seat are former Mayor Anita Arya and local leader Yogender Chandolia. For the high-profile New Delhi constituency where AAP has fielded journalist Ashish Khaitan and the Congress primaries have thrown up the candidature of sitting MP Ajay Maken, the BJP is still struggling to find a credible candidate.

Related Topics