New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday released its first list of 57 candidates for the February 8 polls to the 70-member Delhi Assembly, fielding 20 municipal leaders, including four former mayors, as many ex-deputy mayors and a host of sitting and former councillors.
The party has fielded sitting MLA Vijender Gupta and former mayors Ravinder Gupta and Yogender Chandolia. The list, released by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, also included former AAP MLA Kapil Mishra and has 11 SC and four woman candidates.
The party, however, did not name its candidate against AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, with Tiwari saying the candidate from New Delhi seat will be announced soon.
Gupta will again contest from his Rohini seat, while Mishra will fight from Model Town.
The ruling AAP has announced all its 70 candidates.
Tiwari was joined by senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar at the press conference where he announced the candidates whose names were finalised at its central election committee meeting (CEC) on Thursday night.
The BJP's first list does not have any Muslim candidates, a repeat of the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in its list released earlier this week, has fielded four Muslim candidates.
The BJP had won only three assembly seats in the previous elections, while the AAP had won 67.
Later on Friday, the AAP sought to corner the BJP over the absence of its chief ministerial candidate.
The elections will be a triangular contest, with the Congress being the third major player as political watchers believe the BJP and AAP are likely to be the main rivals in most of the seats.
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