A day after officially announcing it will contest the upcoming Delhi mayoral elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday named national Mahila Morcha president Rekha Gupta as its mayor candidate for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Elected from Shalimar Bagh ward, Gupta has been associated with the BJP since her college days. She was the former general secretary and president of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) from 1996-1997. She has also been a member of the BJP national executive and general secretary of Delhi BJP. North Delhi’s Pitampura area is Gupta’s stronghold and she was a two-time councillor from North Pitampura (Ward 54) from 2007 to 2014.
The BJP also nominated Kamal Bagadi, who was elected from Ram Nagar ward, for the deputy mayor post.
Former South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) mayor Kamaljeet Sherawat, the Dwarka councillor touted to be the BJP’s face of the MCD, Independent candidate Gajender Daral from the Mundka ward, who joined BJP on Monday, and Pankaj Luthra from Jhilmil ward have been nominated as candidates for Standing Committee members.
The mayoral polls will be held on January 6. The BJP candidates will file their nominations on Tuesday at the civic centre, party members said.
The BJP on Monday said it would contest all posts for the MCD House and give “tough” competition to its rival Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has already announced its candidates.
While AAP won the MCD polls with a majority of 134 seats, BJP has 105 seats and Congress nine.
