Cong may not field Sajjan's kin

Party still looking for candidate in South Delhi

Congress MP from South Delhi constituency Ramesh Kumar, who is also the brother of veteran Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, is likely to be replaced by a young face.
Sources in Congress said party Vice President Rahul Gandhi is against giving a ticket to Ramesh Kumar.

“All the 10 Assembly constituencies under the South Delhi parliamentary area were lost in last elections. Ramesh Kumar is also the brother of Sajjan Kumar, who is an accused in 1984 anti-Sikh riots and Rahul Gandhi is against giving ticket to any relative of a leader accused of communal charges,” a party source said.

Sajjan Kumar was apparently given a last chance to be in mainstream politics directly or indirectly in the last Assembly elections. His son Jag Parvesh got a party ticket from Sangam Vihar constituency but he lost in the elections, the source added.

Sources said the party high command is in talks with some eminent sports personality from the capital for the South Delhi seat. The BJP fielded Ramesh Bidhuri, sitting MLA from Tughalakabad and a Gujjar leader, while AAP fielded Col Devendra Sehrawat, a leader from the Jat community.

The Congress is also searching for a face from the Jat or Gurjar community, which dominate the areas of South Delhi.

In West Delhi constituency, the party may consider fielding Mahabal Mishra, sitting MP of the area.

Though all the Assembly seats of his constituency were also lost in the last elections, the party has no Poorvanchali face to counter the BJP.

The BJP fielded Bhojpuri actor and singer Manoj Tiwari from North-West constituency.
“Mahabal’s son Vinay Mishra got a party ticket from Palam Assembly constituency, but he lost in the elections. However, the party may reconsider Mishra as there is a significant population of Poorvanchalis in West Delhi, who voted him in the last parliamentary elections,” a party source said.

Congress is hopeful with Mishra as the BJP has fielded Pravesh Verma, a leader from the Jat community and son of former Delhi chief minister Saheb Singh Verma and the Aam Aadmi Party fielded former journalist Jarnail Singh from the constituency, who is from the Sikh community.

Singh had hurled a shoe a
t former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram during a press conference in 2009 as he was irked over not getting a satisfactory answer on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Congress will finalise the names of candidates in these two constituencies in a couple of days.