Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will address two rallies in the Capital on April 9 as part of the Janata Dal’s (United) campaign for the municipal polls, the party announced on the sidelines of its second list of candidates.
Addressing a press conference, JD (U) national general secretary and Delhi unit in-charge Sanjay Jha said that the Bihar model of prohibition and good governance were expected to add weight to the campaign.
‘Purvanchalis feel cheated’
Independent ward councillor Jeevan Lal from the Harkesh Nagar seat in south Delhi also joined the party in the presence of Mr. Jha and other senior party leaders. “People from the Purvanchal region are feeling short-changed by the other three parties — be it the ruling BJP, the Congress, or the AAP,” Mr. Jha alleged.
The people’s loyalties, he added, had shifted to Mr. Kumar because of his “good governance model”, which should be a benchmark not for the entire country. “Nitish ji will address two big rallies on April 9,” he said.
While one of these rallies would be in north Delhi, the other would be organised in south Delhi. The party also released the second list of 12 candidates, six of whom are women. Most JD (U) candidates, in fact, are from the Purvanchal region. A third list is expected soon.
The six women candidates have been fielded from Sainik Enclave, Maujpur, Chandni Chowk, Lajpat Nagar, Ghonda and Tughlaqabad Extension. The party targeted fielding candidates on about 150 of the 276 seats.
Mr. Lal claimed he joined the party “influenced by the prohibition model of the Bihar government”. His name is in the second list and he will fight the polls from his old seat.
“The 153 sitting BJP councillors will not be fielded, but what about their report cards of the last five years. The party has decided to go with fresh faces because its councillors have failed and it does not want to risk its fortunes,” Mr. Jha said.
