The Ajit Pawar-led NCP named 30 candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly election on Friday after announcing plans to contest the polls independently. The party (which is allied with BJP in Maharashtra) has fielded its candidates against key politicians including Chief Minister Atishi and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
According to the missive released on Friday, Vishvanath Agarwal will be contesting the New Delhi seat against AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. Meanwhile Chief Minister Atishi will face off against NCP candidate Zameel in Kalkaji.
The NCP has seen limited success in Delhi over the years — failing to win any of the seats it had contested in the past two elections. This will also be the first time that the NCP is contesting polls in the national capital since its split into the Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar factions.
It is pertinent to note that the NCP (SP) has already extended its support to the AAP. The two INDIA bloc parties announced the development earlier this week — signalling potential political collaboration between Sharad Pawar and Arvind Kejriwal.
Elections for the 70 seat Delhi Assembly will be held in a single phase on February 5 — with the results being announced on February 8. Both the Congress and the ruling AAP have already announced its candidates for all 70 seats in Delhi. Meanwhile the BJP has so far named candidates for 68 out of 70 seats in the national capital. It is likely to give the remaining two seats to its allies.
A three-way contest is on the cards in Delhi between the ruling AAP, BJP and Congress. Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and has failed to win any seat. AAP dominated the 2020 assembly elections by winning 62 out of 70 seats while the BJP got eight seats.
The development came even as the BJP released its election manifesto on Friday — promising to give every woman in Delhi a monthly stipend of ₹2,500 under the Mahila Samridhi Yojana.
(With inputs from agencies)
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