New Delhi: The Delhi units of the Congress and the BJP, along with the baby of Indian politics, the Aam Aadmi Party, are facing trouble from within as dissent over nominations for the Assembly elections is growing.
Three-time Congress chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who faces stiff competition from her rivals — AAP founder Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta - in her own New Delhi constituency is worried. Just a week ago, shopkeepers of the Bhagat Singh Market protested against her, alleging that she was not easily accessible.
Not only this. Two other well-known leaders, Brij Mohan Bama, who is said to be close to Capt. Satish Sharma, and Ramesh Sabharwal, a confidant of party president Sonia Gandhi’s former secretary V. George, have not come out in support of Dikshit. Bama has been showing his might in the constituency on a regular basis.
He was recently felicitated by party workers at Hanuman Mandir and Lady Hardinge Medical College and now his supporters are planning to organise a big function at Havelock Square. He is also planning to launch a padyatra from Gole Market to Sarojni Nagar.
Ditto is the case with Mr Sabharwal, who too had been facilitated by party workers at several functions. Congress Rajya Sabha member Parvez Hashmi too has lodged his protest after both he and his son, Irfan, were denied nomination from the Okhla seat.
The party chose sitting legislator Asif Mohd. Khan, who has several criminal cases pending against him. “On one hand, they talk about clean candidates. And on the other hand, they have fielded candidates with criminal records,”
BJP chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan told this newspaper. However, things are equally bad in the BJP as well. The party lost its former industries minister Harsharan Singh Balli to
the Congress as he too was denied ticket from the Hari Nagar seat. Former South Delhi mayor Savita Gupta joined the AAP after being denied party ticket from the Kasturba Nagar.
The BJP even ignored the candidature of former chief minister, Madan Lal Khurana’s son from the Moti Nagar seat. It was Khurana who laid the strong foundation of the BJP in Delhi.
The AAP also faces a rebellion from two of the candidates, whose names were recently withdrawn by Kejriwal. It’s early days for the party. It has had little time to bed since it was founded a year ago.
