Congress list out,BJP’s on hold

Elections of the three new municipalities,into which the MCD has been divided,are to be held on April 15,and all candidates have to file their nominations by Monday.

The Congress did not announce its candidates for nine of the 272 wards till late night,with party sources saying leaders were still squabbling over the final shortlist of candidates.

Among the Congress councillors who have been dropped are former mayor Jaishree Panwar and former deputy mayor Panna Lal Khairwal.

Councillors who managed to retain their ticket include Leader of the Opposition in the MCD J K Sharma,former mayor Farhad Suri,former deputy mayors Anita Babbar and Razia Sultan,and former MCD Standing Committee chairman Mukesh Goyal.

Councillors were upset by the party’s decision to not back the old winners. Mahesh Awana,Congress councillor from Mithapur in Southeast Delhi dropped this time,said he would contest as an independent.

“I won from my ward by a tremendous margin. But the party replaced me with another candidate who won from Badarpur. I have worked for my ward. I will file my nomination as an independent,” he said.

Among the fresh faces the party will field this time are former Delhi University Students Union president Amrita Dhawan and 28-year-old Lokendra Chaudhary,possibly the party’s youngest candidate.

Senior Congress leaders like Choudhary Ajit Singh,Deep Chand Bandhu and Nathuram Nagar were among the many who managed to push in their kith and kin in the list.

A senior office bearer at the Congress’s state unit said several first-timers managed to get a ticket with backing from senior party leaders,including parliamentarians and legislators from Delhi.

“Although these candidates are backed by the Congress high command,the decision has miffed the party workers. The so-called-revamp of the party has not benefitted the party worker,” said the office bearer.