Congress candidate from Rithala assembly constituency Sushant Mishra filed his nomination on Wednesday.
Mishra is in the electoral fray against incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mohinder Goyal and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Kulwant Rana.
On January 14, Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, campaigned for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections in Rithala.
He interacted with residents of Rithala, enjoying traditional “dahi-chura” with them on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
Rahul Gandhi took to social media platform X to launch a scathing attack on Delhi Chief Arvind Kejriwal. Sharing a video showcasing alleged shortcomings in Delhi’s infrastructure and public services, Gandhi sarcastically said, “This is Kejriwal ji’s ‘shining’ Delhi – the so-called Paris of India!”
The scathing remark comes as the battle for Delhi heats up, with political leaders ramping up their campaigns ahead of the state elections.
Rithala Assembly constituency is one of the 70 Delhi assembly constituencies, located in the North West Delhi district. This assembly covers various sectors of Rohini, Rithala village, Budh Vihar and Vijay Vihar, according to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi.
AAP’s Mohinder Goyal has been the incumbent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Rithala since 2015. Goyal preceded the office by BJP’s Kulwant Rana, who won the 2008 and 2013 Delhi assembly elections from the constituency.
Rithala is one of the key constituencies in the North West Delhi district.
It is worth noting that Delhi Police had issued a notice to the incumbent AAP MLA Mohinder Goyal and his office staff to join the investigation in a case involving fake Aadhaar card documents, in which several Bangladeshis were arrested, and fake Aadhaar cards were recovered during the investigation, according to Delhi Police sources.
Responding to the allegations, Goyal termed the allegations as “politically motivated.”
With this, the battle for Rithala gained momentum with all three parties intensifying their preparations and campaigning for the elections.
The Delhi assembly polls will be held in a single phase on February 5 and the counting of votes will take place on February 8. The last date for filing nominations is January 17. The date for scrutiny of nominations is January 18. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 20.
The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and has failed to win any seat. In contrast, the AAP eyeing a third term will go to the public, boosting its ‘performance’ in education and the health sector.
AAP won 62 out of the 70 seats in the 2020 assembly elections and BJP secured eight seats.