NEW DELHI: The coveted New Delhi assembly seat is likely to witness a high-octane electoral contest in next assembly elections as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to field former MP from West Delhi Parvesh Verma against the former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The assembly elections in the national capital are due in February.
The candidature of Verma, a prominent Jat face in Delhi, is also the son of the former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, was finalised by the central leadership about a week ago.
Verma also had a meeting with BJP president JP Nadda on Wednesday in this regard.
The party leaders, said that the decision had formalily been conveyed to Verma, who has already started preparations and meeting with the local workers and communities in the New Delhi assembly seats to strategise elections.
Kejriwal wrested the seat from the Congress in 2013 by defeating the three-time chief minister Dikshit when he made his electoral debut in 2013.
Elated with Verma’s candidature, a section of the BJP leaders in Delhi, said that a ‘serious candidate’ had been nominated from the seat for the first time after the party lost it to former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in 1998.
“Verma is a fighter and known for his election management. Time and again, he has proved his mettle. He will definitely give Kejriwal a run for his money. With Verma in the contest, the election in the New Delhi seat is going to be most interesting provided that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener doesn't move to another seat,” said a senior functionary of Delhi BJP.
The rise of Verma in Delhi politics has been remarkable. In 2013, he became an MLA from Mehrauli assembly seat, where he defeated Congress veteran Yoganand Shastri. A year later, he successfully contested the Lok Sabha election from West Delhi. In 2019, he retained the seat with a record-breaking margin of 5.78 lakh votes. Despite representing the West Delhi parliamentary seat twice, Verma was denied a Lok Sabha ticket this year. However, he was made the co-incharge of Rajasthan for Lok Sabha polls.
The party leader believed that giving an opportunity to Verma to take on Kejriwal would have an impact in about 30 assembly seats in outer Delhi, which is considered a stronghold of his father.
Fielding Verma in the upcoming assembly elections is a calculated move by the BJP as it may give tickets to at least two more former MPs against AAP heavyweights including Chief Minister Atishi Marlena and Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj.