Key candidates and constituencies – Parvesh Verma vs Arvind Kejriwal
Among the high-profile BJP candidates is Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, who will contest from the prestigious New Delhi constituency. He will face off against Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP convener and former Delhi Chief Minister, in one of the most anticipated clashes of the election. The Congress has pitted Sandeep Dixit from the constituency.
Another major contest will take place in the Kalkaji constituency, where BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri is set to battle AAP leader and current Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, with Congress fielding Alka Lamba in the same seat. This high-stakes contest will be keenly watched as both major parties compete for the influential Kalkaji seat.
The BJP has also fielded Vijender Gupta from Rohini, Ashish Sood from Janakpuri, and Kailash Gahlot from Bijwasan. The list also includes Anil Sharma from RK Puram, Satish Upadhayay from Malviya Nagar, and Ravinder Singh Negi from Patparganj, all of whom will play critical roles in the party’s strategy to retain power in Delhi.
Other key battles and constituencies
In Jangpura, the BJP has put forward Sardar Tarvinder Singh Marwah, who will challenge Manish Sisodia, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, now representing AAP. Congress has fielded former Mayor Farhad Suri from this constituency, adding to the competitive nature of the contest.
The BJP’s candidate list also includes Dushyant Kumar Gautam from the Karol Bagh (SC) constituency and Rekha Gupta from Shalimar Bagh. These constituencies are set to witness fierce competition as both the BJP and AAP vie for control in key Delhi regions.
Delhi’s political landscape in 2025
The political scene in Delhi is heating up as the three parties prepare for the polls, which may likely be announced soon. The BJP’s first list comes a day after PM Modi launched a scathing attack on AAP, calling it an “aapda” (disaster) that has gripped Delhi for the past 10 years. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal also responded by claiming that the BJP is facing the real “aapda” as it “lacks” a CM face and issues for the assembly polls. The BJP has been targeting Kejriwal for allegedly spending extravagantly on his official residence when he was chief minister, describing his erstwhile home as “sheesh mahal”.
On Saturday as well, the BJP said it would highlight daily the crisis the city government had inflicted on different sectors and began with its alleged financial mismanagement. BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said Delhi used to be considered one of the better states and Union Territories in terms of its financial health but its budget was now likely to report overall losses under the AAP government. Delhi had a budget surplus of 1.56% in 2015-16, which has been falling since then and is now headed into the negative, he said.
Full list of BJP’s 29 candidates
भारतीय जनता पार्टी की केंद्रीय चुनाव समिति ने दिल्ली में होने वाले विधानसभा चुनाव-2025 के लिए निम्नलिखित नामों पर अपनी स्वीकृति प्रदान की। pic.twitter.com/icDL7iUR8n
— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) January 4, 2025
