BJP experiment in New Delhi: Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri Swaraj to contest; Somnath Bharti Aam Aadmi candidate

NEW DELHI: BJP that rejects family rule is testing Bansuri Swaraj (40), daughter of late former Delhi Chief Minister and Union Minister Sushma Swaraj, in the glamour constituency of New Delhi.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which is joining hands with the Congress under the 'INDIA' banner to end the BJP's dominance in seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi, is also trying luck here. Malviya Nagar MLA and senior leader Somnath Bharti is the candidate.

All the winners and losers in the history of the main constituency in the national capital are prominent. India's first woman Chief Minister Sucheta Kripalani representing Kisan Mazdoor Party (1952) and Congress (1957), former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1977, 1980) for Janata Party, former Planning Commission Vice Chairman KC Pant (1984) for Congress, BJP leader LK Advani (1989, 1991) ), actor Rajesh Khanna (1992) for the Congress, and a long list of MPs.

In 1980, Vajpayee defeated Malayali CM Stephen of the Congress. Rajesh Khanna won the 1992 by-election after LK Advani resigned from the New Delhi seat for the second seat in Gandhinagar. The BJP candidate was Shatrughan Sinha. Rajesh Khanna lost to Advani who returned in 1991 and Jagmohan in 1996. In 1999, Jagmohan defeated RK Dhawan, a confidant of Indira Gandhi. In the 2014 Modi wave, BJP won back the constituency through Meenakshi Lekhi after defeating Ajay Maken who won in 2004 and 2009 in Congress wave and retained it in 2019.

Voters who supported Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party in the assembly supported BJP candidates in all seven Lok Sabha constituencies in the 2014 and 2019 elections. To end that trend, the Congress is joining forces with the Aam Aadmi Party, which ousted them from power in 2013.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was also considered to replace Meenakshi Lekhi, who shone as Minister of State for External Affairs and spokeswoman. Bansuri, a Supreme Court lawyer, was chosen to replace her. Bansuri's political debut is backed by her mother's image. Somnath Bharti is well known to Delhiites since his inception in the Aam Aadmi Party. So it will be a tough fight.