Kiran Walia, Farhad Suri in reckoning for New Delhi

NEW DELHI: The fight for space in the battle for New Delhi is getting hotter. As Congress prepares to bring out its second list of candidates by mid-January, there are many ticket seekers who have set their heart on the New Delhi assembly constituency.
The turf of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit till she was ousted by Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal, the seat is set to see a key contest this time, too.It is learnt that a former minister from Delhi, a former mayor and some aspiring bureaucrats are in the reckoning for space in the contest. Dikshit has so far maintained silence on the New Delhi candidature and is unlikely to step into the fray. The contest for New Delhi assembly seat between Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit was the highlight of the 2013 assembly polls.
For Congress, it will be a fight to reclaim lost ground. For AAP, it will be a matter of prestige. And BJP, which lost the seat to Dikshit in 1998, will try to win New Delhi to prove that the Modi wave is still continuing. With AAP having declared Kejriwal as the candidate from the seat, the Congress is now searching for a worthy opponent.
One of the many names doing the rounds in the high-level meetings is that of former women and child and social welfare minister Kiran Walia. It is learnt that those in favour of Walia, who lost from Malviya Nagar in 2013, feel she will be a non-controversial choice and will be able to garner the support of both Dikshit and former Union minister Ajay Maken in worker mobilization. She will also be able to reach out to the urban, educated voter in this constituency.
Former mayor and senior Congress functionary Farhad Suri's name is also being considered for the seat. There are some former bureaucrats who are also seeking space in the contest. All through Dikshit's 15 years at the helm, New Delhi was impermeable for any other candidate and was nurtured by her confidants. Now the party has a big challenge to reclaim the space with a new face.
"We are very clear the candidate from here will be one who can expose Kejirwal's brand of poltics," said Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Arvinder Singh.
New Delhi is predominantly a planned development comprising Lutyens' Zone and the upscale neighbourhoods of Jor Bagh, Golf Links, Lodhi Road area and Sunder Nagar. The dominant vote bank here is made up of residents of government residential colonies. These include employees of NDMC, CPWD, the state government and also central government employees of all levels. Middle income group neighbourhoods of Sarojini nagar, Laxmi Bai Nagar, Naoroji Nagar and Gole Market, and premier markets like Connaught Place and Khan Market also lie in this constituency. There are just two slums here and only one urban village called Pilanji Gaon.