8 file nominations from capital, none from mainstream political parties

Manju Chhibber (58) was the only woman candidate who filed her nomination on Saturday from the East Delhi parliamentary constituency.

“Issues of women and children are very important to me. I decided to enter politics to give to society what I have been expecting from politicians all along,” she said. Married to an Army officer, she is a homemaker and joined the Republican Party of India (RPI) in 2012.

Contesting against sitting MP Sandeep Dikshit, Chhibber said she was not really considering her rivals at the moment. Instead, she said, she would concentrate on the work to be done in the constituency.

“Who my rival is does not matter to me. I have very little respect for mainstream parties or Aam Aadmi Party. They’re leading the country into indiscipline,” she said.

Naya Daur Party candidate from Chandni Chowk, Dhan Raj Chauhan, believes that it is time for the middle class to join politics. “Our effort will be to change India and fight corruption. Our party is working at the ground level in Delhi since 2008,” the 53-year-old said.

No nominations were filed by candidates from the Congress, BJP or the Aam Aadmi Party. However, two Congress leaders, whose candidature was confirmed through the Congress primaries — JP Agarwal and Ajay Maken — are likely to file their nominations in the coming week.

Kundan Jha is a student of EXIMS