The prestigious New Delhi Assembly seat is likely to witness a fierce electoral contest with incumbent legislator, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo, Arvind Kejriwal pitted against the sons of former Chief Ministers of Delhi, who have been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and and Congress as their star candidates. The Congress party has fielded two-time former Member of Parliament (MP) and former Chief Minister (CM) Sheila Dikshit’s son Sandeep Dikshit.

Meanwhile, BJP senior leader and former MP, Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, the son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma, on Saturday also claimed that he has been “asked to prepare for contesting from the New Delhi constituency”. If this candidature materialises, the election will pit two scions of politician families against Kejriwal, making it a triangular battle of high-profile leaders. While the AAP and Congress have announced some candidates, BJP is still figuring out their list. The AAP has so far declared two lists with 31 names.

According to poll experts, this election is more than just a political contest for Sandeep Dikshit, it is a chance for him to reclaim his family’s legacy and ‘settle old scores’ in the New Delhi seat. Sources in the Congress said a team which worked with Sheila Dikshit is still active in New Delhi which may help him to counter Kejriwal’s narratives.

Even in 2020, when it drew a blank in the Assembly polls for the second time in a row, the Congress had banked on the late Congress stalwart to revive its fortunes in what was once its citadel. The party’s campaign song in 2020 had a line, “‘Ek Dilli thi vo jo Sheila ne khud se sawari tha. Fir se Congress wali Dilli’…”

Some insiders say in the past 10, the Congress is out of power in Delhi and their leaders and workers have lost their connectivity with the people. Currently, the Congress has no face that connects with people. The New Delhi constituency is one of the smallest, numerically speaking, of the total 70 Assembly seats and is dominated by the government employees as voters.

On the other hand, AAP convener has an advantage as he has a connection with people. Speaking at an event earlier on Friday, Kejriwal rejected the rumours that he was going to shift from the New Delhi seat to some other constituency in the Assembly elections which are due in February next year. “There will be no change. I will contest from the New Delhi seat and Chief Minister Atishi from Kalkaji,” he said when asked about the possibility of changing seats by them.

Verma, a former West Delhi Lok Sabha MP, said, “My party has asked me to prepare for this seat.”  The list of BJP candidates is yet to come out, he added.

The AAP supremo shot to fame in the political arena of the country by defeating then chief minister Sheila Dikshit from the New Delhi constituency in the 2013 Assembly polls by a margin of over 25,000 votes. He won the seat again in 2015 defeating BJP’s Nupur Sharma by over 31,000 votes. In 2020, the last Assembly election, Kejriwal defeated BJP’s Sunil Yadav by over 21,000 votes. Congress candidate Romesh Sabharwal got just 3,220 votes in the New Delhi seat in the 2020 Assembly elections.

In 1993, Kirti Azad won from the New Delhi Assembly seat on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. Sheila Dikshit won the seat as a Congress candidate in 1998, 2003 and 2008.

Interestingly, the Congress list has also drawn criticism for apparent nepotism, with tickets going to Mudit Agarwal and Shivank Singhal, sons of senior Congress leaders.

The Congress on Thursday announced its first list of 21 candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections which include 12 first-time candidates, signalling the party’s intent to inject fresh energy into its campaign. Key names among them are Mudit Aggarwal from Chandni Chowk, Aruna Kumar from Narela, and Shivank Singhal from Adarsh Nagar. Prominent party members Jai Kishan, Ragini Nayak, and Anil Bharadwaj will contest from Sultanpur Majra, Wazirpur, and Sadar Bazar, respectively.

The Congress and the AAP are partners in the INDIA Bloc but are rivals in Delhi and Punjab. Earlier this week, Kejriwal ruled out any possibility of alliance with the Congress in the upcoming Assembly polls in the National Capital.