The BJP election committee met for six hours on Friday but could not zero in on 70 candidates for the Assembly polls on November 29. The Delhi unit of the party has till date managed to select 33 names, and all these names will be screened and finalised by the party headquarters.

City BJP leaders were scheduled to present the 33 names at the party’s Ashoka Road headquarters at 6 pm but the top brass was busy discussing the list for Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir till late evening. “Party president Rajnath Singh told us to complete our list tomorrow and present the final report,” Delhi BJP president Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

The election committee will, thus, sit down again on Saturday at 10 am.

The 33 candidates ‘finalised’ by the city unit includes names of 19 sitting MLAs. The other 14 seats ‘decided’ are: Timarpur, Adarsh Nagar, Badli, Bawana, Mundka, Sultanpur, Mangolpuri, Shakur Basti, Tri Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Model Town, Madipur, Patel Nagar and Rajouri Garden. Of these, Adarsh Nagar and Rajouri Garden have been given to allies Shiromani Akali Dal.     

But even as Delhi BJP leaders were brainstorming, there were signs of rebellion brewing outside. Several frustrated ticket-seekers began a protest outside the party office against some of the ‘outsider candidates’ — those who do not reside in the constituency from where their names have been pitched. Some of the protestors even manhandled Delhi BJP chief Harsh Vardhan while he was entering the party office for the election committee meeting.

Vani Tripathi, picked by the party for Vikaspuri constituency, was among those whose candidature was derided by the protestors. Tripathi lives in Gole Market. “She does not even know the area’s topography. How do you think she is going to manage?” a block-level worker from Vikaspuri asked.

In East Delhi, there is grouse against student leader Nakul Bhardwaj’s name being proposed for the Patparganj seat. Protestors said though Bhardwaj’s brother had been living in the area for long, he himself moved in barely six months ago.

Similar is the complaint in Vishwas Nagar as party workers from the area said local candidate Kuldeep Chel was ignored. Instead, senior leaders are trying to finalise O P Sharma’s candidature, they said.

For the newly formed constituency Kirari, Delhi BJP has chosen Anil Jha, who lives in Katwaria Sarai. There was also massive protest against Mongolpuri candidate Yogesh Attre. “Attre lives in Kheda village, some 20 kilometres from Mongolpuri,” ticket aspirant from the area, Roshan Valmiki, said.

Attre, he said, does not have an idea of the area. “He doesn’t even know local BJP workers. The party would only serve the seat to (Congress minister) Rajkumar Chauhan this way.”

Santosh Parkhi, a woman candidate eyeing the Bawana seat, came with an entourage to protest. The party has selected former MLA Chand Ram for the seat. Elected in 1993, Ram had not managed a nomination since then. “BJP talks about 33 per cent reservation for women in elections,” Parkhi said, “but ground realities are vastly different.”

Senior leaders talked tough on the protests. Harsh Vardhan said, “Anyone flexing muscle in support or in opposition of any candidate will not be considered for a ticket.”