Amid speculation over an alliance with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for Lok Sabha polls, Delhi Congress has shortlisted list of 17 probable candidates for the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national Capital.
With Congress short-listing names of probable candidates for all the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national Capital, the chances of Congress entering into a pre-poll alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) receded. Party insiders said that an announcement to this regards is expected on Monday. “Delhi Congress president and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has put her foot down against any alliance with the AAP in Delhi as that would be detrimental to the interest of the party’s fortunes here”, said a close confidante of Ms Dikshit.
According to sources in the party names of Sandeep Dikshit and A K Walia are shortlisted from the East Delhi seat. The Congress’s probable candidates from the New Delhi seat are Archana Dalmia who is former secretary of Sonia Gandhi and former party’s Delhi unit president Ajay Maken. The probables from the North West Delhi seat are Tarun Kumar, Raj Kumar Chauhan and Jai kisaan.
The list of probable from the West Delhi seat has names of Mahabal Mishra, Devendra Yadav, Mahabali Satpal. While JP Agarwal, Mateen Ahmad, Ragini Nayak are the probable’s for North East Delhi seat, which is currently held by Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari. In the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat, Kapil Sibbal and Haroon Yusuf are the party’s probable candidates. Ramesh Kumar and Yoganand Shastri have been shortlisted for South Delhi seat.
Earlier on Saturday, the Delhi Congress Screening Committee met to shortlist candidates for seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, amid speculation over its alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The meeting held at Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit’s residence was on till late hours, said party sources. A final decision on Congress alliance with the AAP is pending with party president Rahul Gandhi. BJP currently holds all the seven seats in Delhi and has a daunting task of retaining its 2014 tally, amid possibilities of alliance between the AAP and the Congress for the coming national elections.
The ruling AAP had declared its candidates from all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The seven AAP candidates are Atishi from East Delhi, Guggan Singh from North-West Delhi, Raghav Chadha from South, Dilip Pandey from North-East, Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk, Balbir Singh Jhakhar from West Delhi and Brijesh Goyal will contest from New Delhi seats.
Elections to the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi will be held on May 12. The results will be declared with the rest of the country on May 23.