BJP considering 'early declaration' of candidates for upcoming Delhi Assembly polls

The BJP is considering an "early declaration" of its candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls to get a head start over its rivals AAP and Congress, a party leader said on Tuesday.

The suggestion to announce the early list of party candidates for the assembly polls due in February was also discussed in the recent 'Chintan Baithak' (brainstorming session) of Delhi BJP’s extended core committee held in Rajasthan’s Ranthambore, said a former state party chief. “The issue of candidate selection and announcement of names of candidates was raised by some leaders, including a party MP. It was contended that an early announcement of tickets will benefit the party in campaigning,” he said. BJP’s national leadership is aware of the demand from some senior Delhi BJP leaders for an early declaration of tickets, as the two-day session in Ranthambore was also attended by the party’s national general secretary, B L Santhosh, he added.

The demand for announcing candidates sooner than later picked up momentum as the BJP on Tuesday appointed its national vice-president, Baijayant Jay Panda, as the in-charge for the Delhi Assembly polls. Ghaziabad BJP MP Atul Garg will be the co-in-charge. “This time, the BJP has good chances of staging a comeback to power in Delhi after a long time. An early declaration of tickets will boost the momentum built on an aggressive campaign against Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP on corruption and governance failure issues,” said another senior Delhi BJP leader. A final call on the time of candidate announcement is to be made by the national leadership, he said, adding that the BJP has not been in power in the capital since 1998 and is making strong efforts to inflict a political defeat on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The saffron party was routed by the AAP back-to-back in the 2015 and 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, as it managed to win just three and eight seats, respectively. Even as a section of Delhi BJP leaders are keen on the early announcement of tickets, there is another lot that believes the move could bring “more trouble” than benefit to the party. A Delhi BJP leader opposing this idea said, “It could lead to resentment among a vast section of experienced workers and leaders denied tickets much before the elections, thus harming the party. Also, more time available to candidates will mean longer campaigns and requirement of resources.”