Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Mohan Singh Bisht on Sunday slammed the party’s decision to field fellow BJP member Kapil Mishra from the Karawal Nagar seat for the upcoming Assembly elections, terming it as a 'big mistake'. His reaction comes in the backdrop of BJP naming Mishra as its candidate from the Karawal Nagar seat on Saturday, replacing Bisht.
Bisht, who had won the 2020 elections against Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Durgesh Pathak, in his statement asserted that he will 'not contest from any other seat'. The BJP MLA has won all the Assembly elections from his seat except one since 1998.
"The BJP thinks they will field anyone and he will win. This is a big mistake. Only time will tell what will happen in Burari, Karawal Nagar, Ghonda, Seelampur, Gokalpuri and Nand Nagri seats. I will not contest from any other seat. I will file my nomination from the Karawal Nagar seat, before January 17," Bisht said.
However, on his candidature, Mishra exuded confidence and said, "The people of Karawal Nagar are excited and we will register a big win here. There is a wave of transformation in Delhi. BJP is going to form the government in Delhi."
BJP second list of 29 candidates
The BJP on Saturday released its second list featuring 29 candidates for the Delhi Assembly polls, fielding Kapil Mishra, a former AAP leader now identified with hardline Hindutva politics, from Karawal Nagar. It has fielded Harish Khurana, son of former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana, from the Moti Nagar constituency.
With the latest announcement, the party has so far named candidates for 58 seats of the 70-member Delhi Assembly. The elections are scheduled to be held on February 5 and the votes will be counted on February 8.
Mishra, who replaced sitting party MLA Mohan Singh Bisht, made several speeches, denounced as inflammatory by rival parties, just before communal riots broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020.
(With PTI inputs)