The Delhi Congress rang in the New Year on Thursday by declaring a list of 24 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Apart from nine former MLAs, including latest entrant to the party’s Delhi unit Shoaib Iqbal, the list includes the names of leaders who contested the previous Assembly elections, but came in second and two former presidents of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC).
Three-time former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who lost to Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal, does not figure in the list. However, according to a senior leader, she will play a major part in the party’s campaign behind the scenes.
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“The pattern on which the list of candidates was decided is based on considerations of popularity, development work initiated by them, as well as the candidates’ experience in the Capital’s political life,” added a party leader.
The first list included Devender Yadav from Badli, Jai Kishan from Sultanpur Majra, Prahlad Singh Sawhney from Chandni Chowk, Haroon Yusuf from Ballimaran, Asif Mohammad Khan from Okhla, Chaudhary Mateen Ahmed from Seelampur, Delhi unit chief Arvinder Singh from Gandhi Nagar and Hasan Ahmed from Mustafabad.
Former Delhi unit chiefs Surender Kumar will contest from reserved seat Bawana, while Subhash Chopra has been fielded from his traditional Kalkaji seat. All others, barring Mr. Iqbal who recently joined Congress from the Janata Dal (United), are runners up.
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Meanwhile, the party is learnt to have formally written to leaders across the country, asking them to make their way to and camp upwards of a month in the Capital to assist the latter in mobilising support for the polls.
As has already been reported, prominent party leaders from across northern India will be assigned one of the Capital’s 70 Assembly Constituencies each and be required to “assist party’s local candidate there”, beginning the day of the notification of the polls.