BJP filded Cricketer Gautam Gambhir from East Delhi
NEW DELHI : The BJP has fielded cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir from East Delhi constituency and Meenakshi Lekhi form New Delhi constituency on Monday. Earlier today, with just 20 days to go for the Lok Sabha Elections in Delhi, the Congress on Monday cleared the air and confirmed that it would not ally with Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and go solo in the polls to take on the BJP.Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha constituencies go to polls on May 12 in the sixth phase.
Mr Gambhir has replaced Maheish Girri as the party’s candidate and will take on Arvinder Singh Lovely of the Congress and Atishi of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).Ms Lekhi is pitted against AAP’s Brajesh Goel and Ajay Maken of the Congress.
“I am joining this party (BJP) after getting influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision. I am honoured to get the opportunity. I will work to take this country forward and make it a better place to live in,” Gambhir told the media after joining the BJP.
Gambhir, a resident of Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, was a high-profile campaigner for Jaitley’s 2014 contest in Punjab’s Amritsar seat which the BJP lost. The cricketer-turned politician officially announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on December 4, 2018.
He played 58 Tests, scoring 4,154 runs at an average of 41.95, including nine centuries and 22 fifties. He played 147 ODIs, scoring 5,238 runs at an average of 39.68 and a strike-rate of 85.25. Gambhir made his last appearance in the India jersey in the first Test against England (2016) in the home series.
He played a pivotal role in India’s historic victories in the inaugural edition of ICC World T20. In the ICC World Cup 2011, he played match-winning knocks of 75 (against Pakistan) and 97 (against Sri Lanka) which helped the men in blue to lift the world title.
Mr Gambhir, a retired international cricketer, had joined the BJP last month. “I have been influenced by the PM, his vision for the country. This is a fabulous platform for me to do something for the country,” Gautam Gambhir, 37, had said after joining the party.
After joining the BJP, Gambhir got into a Twitter spat with National Conference leader and former J&K CM Omar Abdullah suggesting him to shift to Pakistan over his remarks that his party would strive to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy that could include having a wazir-e-azam (prime minister).
On Monday, the BJP had released a list of five candidates in which it re-nominated four of its sitting lawmakers in the national capital that has seven Lok Sabha seats. Union Minister Harsh Vardhan and BJP state unit president Manoj Tiwari have been fielded in Chandni Chowk and North East Delhi seats respectively.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Saheb Singh Verma’s son Parvesh Verma has been fielded in West Delhi and Ramesh Bidhuri in South Delhi.(With Agency Inputs ).
