Delhi: The BJP has unveiled its initial list of candidates for the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections. The list includes candidates for 29 of the 70 seats in the national capital, media reports said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on the other hand, has announced the names of all its candidates for the elections, which are scheduled to take place in February.

Former BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma is set to contest against ex-Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency.

"I thank my party's top leadership... I hope to justify the trust placed in me. During the COVID-19 crisis, when Delhi needed oxygen, Arvind Kejriwal Ji was distributing a 'free bottle on every bottle'... There are several issues in Delhi, such as cleaning the Yamuna and controlling pollution. Once the BJP forms the government, we will address these challenges," Verma stated, expressing his gratitude, reported NDTV.

Kailash Gehlot, a former Delhi Transport Minister and once a close ally of Arvind Kejriwal, switched from AAP to the BJP a few months prior to the elections. He will be contesting from the Bijwasan constituency.

Ramesh Bidhuri, who served as the BJP MP for South Delhi until 2024, is running from the Kalkaji constituency, where he will face Chief Minister Atishi.

Bidhuri was denied a ticket by the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress has fielded Alka Lamba as its candidate for the Kalkaji seat.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi criticised the BJP's decision.

"Ramesh Bidhuri was an MP for 10 years, but his party did not trust his performance and denied him a Lok Sabha ticket. How can the people of Kalkaji trust his work?" she was quoted as saying by NDTV.

In response, Bidhuri expressed gratitude to the BJP leadership.

"I thank the BJP for trusting me to reclaim the Kalkaji Assembly seat. Delhi has been suffering under Arvind Kejriwal's leadership. The people of Kalkaji have endured 'AAPda' under Chief Minister Atishi,"Bhiduri said, the report added.

Arvinder Singh Lovely, a former minister in Sheila Dikshit's cabinet from 2003 to 2013, left the Congress last year to join the BJP. He will now contest from the Gandhinagar constituency in east Delhi.

The AAP has held power in Delhi since 2015, achieving landslide victories in two consecutive Assembly elections.

However, the party has failed to secure a single seat in Lok Sabha elections since 2014, while the BJP has consistently won all seven parliamentary seats in Delhi.

Yesterday, sources informed NDTV that Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva will not contest in the upcoming Assembly elections, quelling speculation that he might enter the fray.

The upcoming elections are anticipated to be a fierce contest between the BJP and AAP.

The Congress, which governed Delhi for 15 consecutive years, has been unable to win a single seat in the last two Assembly elections.

Despite being part of the Opposition INDIA bloc, Congress and AAP are competing against each other in the Delhi elections, just as they did during the Haryana polls last year.