MCD polls: Flooded with names of 15,000 probable candidates, BJP has its task cut out to pick 250

A senior BJP leader said these recommendations have come from different sources including teams of observers who collected feedback about probable candidates from local BJP leaders during a two-day process, recommendations of senior leaders, and biodatas received at the party office.

Each observer team, comprising two central and Delhi unit members, visited each of the city’s 14 districts on Monday and Tuesday to collect names of probable candidates with a good reputation and a high winnability factor, the leaders said.

Present and former MLAs of Delhi’s 70 Assembly constituencies, presidents and general secretaries of 270 mandals (roughly as per ward boundaries) and 250 wards recommended the names of three probables each, said a senior leader of the BJP’s Delhi unit associated with the shortlisting process.

Party leaders and workers aspiring to contest the elections are also submitting their biodatas in large numbers at the BJP’s Delhi office and to senior functionaries. “Every day, we are receiving applications in the party office. We have so far received over 15,000 applications through these channels and the number will rise further,” said the senior leader.

The nomination process for the polls, which started on Monday, will conclude on November 14. “We are trying to process as many applications as possible but it is proving to be a tough task due to the short time available to file the nominations,” said another senior Delhi unit leader.

He said the party would in the first stage, pick three candidates for each seat by Tuesday after which the names would be further screened.

The BJP, which has governed the civic bodies since 2007, is pitted against a resurgent Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress.

In the civic body polls in 2017, the BJP won 181 of the 270 wards. No polling could be held on two seats due to death of candidates. The AAP had won 48 wards, while the Congress managed to win 27.

Earlier this year, the Centre unified the three municipal corporations into one and reduced the total number of wards from 272 to 250.