Former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri figured prominently among the five BJP candidates for Lok Sabha seats in Delhi whose names were announced on Saturday, betting big on fresh faces while resting four sitting MPs. No candidate was announced for the East Delhi seat held by Gautam Gambhir, who has requested the party to relieve him of the political duties so that he can focus on his cricket commitments.
Out of the five names announced on Saturday, two are women. Bansuri Swaraj will contest from the New Delhi seat, currently held by Meenakshi Lekhi; former Chandni Chowk MLA Praveen Khandelwal will fight from Chandni Chowk, currently held by Dr Harsh Vardhan; former mayor Kamaljeet Shehrawat has been fielded from West Delhi, currently held by Parvesh Verma; and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri will replace Ramesh Bidhuri as the party candidate from the South Delhi seat.
The BJP is yet to announce the names for two seats in Delhi—East Delhi, currently held by Gautam Gambhir, and North West Delhi (reserved), currently held by Hans Raj Hans. 39-year-old Bansuri’s electoral debut is in keeping with the BJP’s ongoing drive for generational switch within the organisation that was also visible during the recent Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Thanking the party for showing confidence in her, Bansuri said, “Party workers would go to each booth to seek vote on the development plank and ensure that the Modi ki Guarantee takes the party tally over 400.” A lawyer by profession and co-convenor of the BJP Delhi’s legal cell, Bansuri has been active in Delhi unit’s activities. Earlier in the day, Gautam Gambhir, the incumbent MP from East Delhi, issued a statement on social media that he had decided to step down from active politics and focus on his upcoming cricket commitments.
On his social media handle X (formally Twitter) Gambhir shared a message requesting party’s national president J.P. Nadda to relieve him of all political duties so that he could focus on his upcoming cricket commitments. He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for giving him a chance to serve the people. “I have requested Hon’ble Party President JP Nadda ji to relieve me of my political duties so that I can focus on my upcoming cricket commitments. I sincerely thank Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi for giving me the opportunity to serve the people. Jai Hind,” Gautam Gambhir said in a post on X.
Besides his political activities, Gambhir continued his association with cricket as he coached IPL teams and also played in the Legends League Cricket. Moreover, he worked as a cricket commentator with Star Sports and shared his opinion during various ICC tournaments. Gambhir’s political opponents had often attacked the leader for not paying attention to his constituency.
Hoping to get a massive first-mover advantage as it works towards its target of winning 370 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP on Saturday announced a list of 195 candidates for the upcoming elections