BJP releases first list for Delhi Assembly polls; ex-MP Parvesh Verma to take on Kejriwal, Ramesh Bidhuri up against Atishi

BJP Candidate List for Delhi Assembly Election 2025: The party has dropped Gandhi Nagar MLA Anil Bajpayee and given a ticket to former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely.

Delhi Assembly Polls: Ramesh Bidhuri, Parevesh Verma and Kailash Gahlot have been fielded in the first list. (File photos)

Delhi Assembly Polls 2025: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday released its first list of 29 candidates for the Delhi Assembly polls scheduled in February.

Among the names featured in the first list, former west Delhi MP Parvesh Verma will be taking on AAP chief and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi constituency. Former south Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri is set to go up against CM Atishi from Kalkaji, while former AAP Minister Kailash Gahlot has been fielded from Bijwasan instead of his turf Najafgarh.

The party has also dropped Gandhi Nagar MLA Anil Bajpayee and given a ticket to former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely.

Here’s the full first list of BJP’s candidates

Initially, the first list of BJP’s candidates for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections was anticipated late December after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to chair a Central Election Committee meeting. According to BJP sources, a reason for this delay in announcing candidates was “lack of options” on certain seats.

Further, a change in guard in the state unit with a working president from an SC, ST or OBC community was also considered likely ahead of the final verdict on picks for the polls from its national leadership. It was speculated that the BJP’s Delhi unit may be handed over to “a senior leader from a significant community” in the wake of the furore over Dr BR Ambedkar during the recently concluded Winter Session of the Parliament.

Meanwhile, the AAP has announced picks for all the 70 Assembly constituencies in Delhi. The Congress has named candidates for 21 seats with more expected soon.

Jatin Anand

Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with the national political bureau of The Indian Express. With over 16 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is a seasoned expert in national governance, electoral politics, and bureaucratic affairs. Having covered high-stakes beats including the Election Commission of India (ECI), intelligence, and urban development, Jatin provides authoritative analysis of the forces shaping Indian democracy. He is an alumnus of Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU) and the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, where he specialized in Print Journalism. Expertise High-Stakes Beat Coverage: Throughout his decade-and-a-half career, Jatin has covered some of the most sensitive and influential beats in the country, including: The Election Commission of India (ECI): Monitoring electoral policy, reforms, and the conduct of national and state polls. National Security & Intelligence: Reporting on the internal mechanisms and developments within India's security apparatus. Urban Development: Analyzing the policies and bureaucratic processes driving the transformation of India’s cities. National Political Bureau: In his current role, he tracks the intersection of policy and politics, offering deep-dive reporting on the Union government and national political movements. Academic Credentials: Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU): Alumnus of one of Delhi's premier institutions. Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai: Specialized in Print Journalism at India's most prestigious journalism school. ... Read More

Vibha B Madhava

Vibha B Madhava is a sub-editor at the news desk for IndianExpress.com. She is interested in writing about gender, culture and politics of ableism. Having specialised in digital journalism, she is keen to explore various forms of interactive, multimedia storytelling. Apart from that, she also likes to experiment with social media. Qualification, Degrees/other achievements: Bachelor's degree in Media and Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. PG Diploma in Integrated Multimedia Journalism from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. With The Indian Express, this is Vibha's first stint in pursuing journalism in a full-time capacity. Previous internship experience: Deccan Herald, Bengaluru; The News Minute, Bengaluru; The Mojo Story; Radio Indigo 91.9 and Fever FM 94.3 (Hyderabad) You can find her on Twitter as @VibhaBMadhava , on LinkedIn (Vibha B Madhava), or write to her at vibha.madhava@indianexpress.com. ... Read More

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