Several first time candidates in fray for Delhi polls

By Joymala Bagchi
New Delhi [India], Feb 6 (ANI): The fate of several first-time candidates from various political parties in the national capital will be decided on February 8 when voters in Delhi are set to exercise their franchise in the state Assembly polls.
The high-voltage poll campaign that ended on Thursday was marked by an aggressive blitzkrieg between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while Congress too left no stone unturned to make the contest triangular.
Twenty-nine-year-old Shubham Sharma, who is contesting on a Congress ticket from Tughlakabad constituency, told ANI: "As a first-timer, it means a lot to me to contest from Indian National Congress. In our constituency, there is nothing for the youth, not even a sports complex. None of the governments (Centre and State) have fulfilled any of their promises."
"None of the leaders has utilised Okhla industrial area adequately. The sad part is no one has even tried to utilise it. I will take up this issue seriously," he said.
Sharma is contesting against AAP's Sahi Ram Pehlwan and BJP's Vikram Bidhuri.
BJP too has fielded some new candidates to oust the ruling AAP from Delhi. BJP's candidate from Delhi Cantt, Manish Singh has promised to bring in drastic changes in his constituency if elected to office.
"There are four major issues in our area which need to be resolved immediately. The first that tops the list is clean drinking water which the AAP government has deprived people. Further, there are problems of lease and mutation which need special attention," he said.
"People living in servant quarters are facing real adversities in daily life. Electricity is also a major concern here which I promise to resolve after being elected by the people," Singh added.
He will face Virender Singh Kadian from AAP and Congress' Sandeep Tanwar.
Out of over 1.47 crore voters in the national capital, there are 2,32,815 voters between the age group of 18-19 years.
Another candidate Vinay Kumar Mishra, who had contested 2013 polls on Congress ticket, is fighting this election on the AAP ticket for the first time.
"There are only pros this time. I did not see any anti-incumbency against AAP. We are getting a positive response and people are happy with us," he said.
When asked about his vision for the constituency, he said: "There are unauthorised colonies, some major problems in sewage lines which I want to resolve. Also, there is a 27-acre park, which has been at the centre of various sports activities and programs/events.
"However, it is closed now and my priority is to open it for the people of my constituency. Here the people are not rich and cannot go to farmhouses to conduct weddings and other functions and they solely depend on this park," he added.
Mishra has been fielded against Congress' Adarsh Shastri and BJP's Pradyumna Rajput. Shastri who won on the AAP ticket in 2015 Assembly polls had joined the Congress last month. (ANI)