Delhi Assembly Election 2020: BJP releases final list of ten candidates; Tajinder Bagga to contest from Hari Nagar

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on late Monday night released the final list of ten candidates for the 2020 Delhi Assembly Elections, thereby completing the list of candidature for 67 constituency seats in Delhi.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) releases another list of 10 candidates for the #DelhiElections2020. Tajinder Pal Bagga to contest from Hari Nagar constituency. pic.twitter.com/I61TvNuBzu

— ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020

Among the notable names revealed in this list are BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, contesting from the Hari Nagar constituency, and Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president Sunil Yadav, set to contest the New Delhi seat against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Yadav is a noteworthy fresh face among BJP candidates this year. An advocate by profession, he has worked his way from being the District President of the BYJM, the youth wing of the BJP, to where he is now. The saffron camp is hopeful that Yadav's youth appeal will help the party in defeating Kejriwal and his party, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Interestingly, however, Twitterati started trending #Bagga4HariNagar after the loudmouth spokesperson of the BJP's Delhi unit, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, was given a ticket to contest from the Hari Nagar constituency in the final list. Notably, after Bagga had been left out of the BJP's previous lists, Twitterati had trended #DontCryBagga on the social media site, to mock his missed chance of contesting the 2020 Delhi polls. However, he has now been given the ticket to contest the Hari Nagar seat. BJP sources said that Bagga was interested in contesting from Tilak Nagar, but the party high command decided to field another candidate from that seat.

Other constituencies named in the final list are Nangloi Jat, Rajouri Garden, Delhi Cantonment, Kasturba Nagar, Mehrauli, Kalkaji, Krishna Nagar and Shahdara.

In its first list, the BJP had announced candidates for 57 assembly seats. With this second and final list, the total number of candidates contesting the Delhi Assembly Election 2020 for the BJP has now gone up to 67. As the Delhi Legislative Assembly has 70 seats, the three remaining constituencies are being kept by the BJP for allies LJP and JDU to contest, as per reports by news agencies earlier on Monday. Tuesday is the last day to file nomination.

According to reports, the Sangam Vihar and Burari assembly constituencies have been kept for the Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), and Seemapuri has been kept for the Janata Dal (United) (JDU), with who the BJP will contest the Bihar polls later this year.

The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance for the upcoming assembly elections in Delhi has collapsed amid a row over the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Earlier, the two parties had agreed to field SAD candidates on four seats - Rajouri Garden, Hari Nagar, Shahadra and Kalkaji.

The Delhi Assembly elections will be held on February 8 while counting of votes will be conducted on February 11. In the 2015 assembly elections, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had swept the polls by winning 67 of the 70 seats. This time, the ruling AAP is locked in a triangular contest with the BJP and the Congress but is favourite to retain the Union Territory.