‘All the MLAs and leaders of Akali Dal (Badal) are already campaigning for BJP candidates in their areas. But we will also organise rallies by Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal and other prominent leaders in Sikh- dominated areas of the city,’ said VK Malhotra, chairman of Delhi BJP’s election and campaign committee, while releasing a list of 43 star campaigners for Delhi.
According to senior leaders in the party, effort are being made to connect the Sikh community with the party, as the community feels alienated due to not being given any ticket in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. The party had earlier planned on field ing Navjot Singh Sidhu from West Delhi, where Sikhs are in majority. However the sitting MP from Amritsar refused to contest, forcing the party to opt for a Jat representative, Parvesh Singh Varma.
Sikhs are in significant numbers in five of the ten assembly segments of West Delhi, namely Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Janak Puri and Uttam Nagar. The other five seats are Dwarka, Najafgarh, Mandipur, Vikaspuri and Matiala. BJP strategists feel that the West Delhi candidate has a hold in Jat-dominated seats but fear division of Sikh votes due to the presence of AAP’s Jarnail Singh. In the assembly elections BJP lost two Sikh bastions (Tilak Nagar and Hari Nagar)
to AAP.
Prominent BJP faces for campaigns in these areas include prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, LK Advani, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, MM Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Navjot Singh Siddhu, Anup Jalota, all the seven MP candidates in Delhi, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states except Goa chief minister Manohar Parikkar, and other prominent leaders.
According to senior leaders in the party, effort are being made to connect the Sikh community with the party, as the community feels alienated due to not being given any ticket in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. The party had earlier planned on field ing Navjot Singh Sidhu from West Delhi, where Sikhs are in majority. However the sitting MP from Amritsar refused to contest, forcing the party to opt for a Jat representative, Parvesh Singh Varma.
Sikhs are in significant numbers in five of the ten assembly segments of West Delhi, namely Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Janak Puri and Uttam Nagar. The other five seats are Dwarka, Najafgarh, Mandipur, Vikaspuri and Matiala. BJP strategists feel that the West Delhi candidate has a hold in Jat-dominated seats but fear division of Sikh votes due to the presence of AAP’s Jarnail Singh. In the assembly elections BJP lost two Sikh bastions (Tilak Nagar and Hari Nagar)
to AAP.
Prominent BJP faces for campaigns in these areas include prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, LK Advani, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, MM Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Navjot Singh Siddhu, Anup Jalota, all the seven MP candidates in Delhi, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states except Goa chief minister Manohar Parikkar, and other prominent leaders.