Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and sitting party MP Parvesh Verma filed their nomination on Monday for the Chandni Chowk, North East Delhi and West Delhi constituencies respectively.
The senior leadership of the BJP had decided to field Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans from the reserved North West Delhi seat, said sources.
However, on the heels of announcing his candidature, the party was forced into a huddle for a re-think.
North West Delhi seat
Incumbent North West Delhi MP Udit Raj publicly staked claim to the seat and accused its senior leadership, including national president Amit Shah, of leaving him out in the cold. He was willing to “resign and move on” and was considering approaching both AAP and the Congress for a ticket to contest from his home turf, said sources close to Mr. Raj.
“I spoke to everyone, including Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh and BJP national organisational general secretary Ramlal about their decision [to field him or not]. I tried to call Mr. Shah 10 times and even tried to talk to the PM. I told them I have performed well, that I am the only Dalit leader of the BJP known across India ... I do not deserve this treatment... I am hopeful of getting my ticket,” Mr. Raj said.
He added that he would decide on his “future course of action” as soon as the party communicated its decision regarding his candidature.
Party sources confirmed that senior leaders, including Mr. Gadkari and Mr. Singh, were engaged in a discussion regarding Mr. Raj’s candidature till late night.
AAP sources said Mr. Raj had “approached the party for a ticket”. The Congress sources echoed the same.
AAP sources, however, said while Mr. Raj was likely to be allowed to take the membership of the party, he would “certainly not be given a ticket”.
