A day after their defeat in Delhi, BJP workers are now questioning their choice of candidates. Statistics point to the fact that in several cases, the party handed tickets to candidates who had already lost the electorate’s mandate.

“People are tired of seeing the same old faces repeatedly seeking their support, come poll season. Why would a person vote for someone they had rejected in the earlier polls?” asked a senior leader.

In South Delhi — one of the keenly contested areas— BJP propped Ram Bhaj against Congress leader Kiran Walia. Ram Bhaj, a two-time MLA from Sarojini Nagar, had lost in 2003 from Sarojini Nagar by 2,755 votes. Following delimitation, Sarojini Nagar as a constituency ceased to exist, so he was transported to Malviya Nagar. Insiders claim that his familial ties with former Delhi Pradesh chief Kedar Nath Sahni helped his case.

Another case in point, say party workers, is Bhram Singh Tanwar who had lost by 11,656 votes against Congress candidate Balram Tanwar from Mehrauli in 2003. This time too, he was pitted against Tanwar in the Chattarpur constituency, and lost.

In Patel Nagar, BJP’s Anita Arya stood for the last Lok Sabha elections but lost by a huge margin.

In East Delhi, Alok Kumar has faced Congress bigwig Ram Babu Sharma in Rohtash Nagar for last three Assembly elections, and has lost each time. In 2003, he was defeated by a margin of 6,363 votes. The BJP, however, gave him the Rohtash Nagar ticket again.

... contd.