New Delhi: Virendra Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were Indian cricket's top opening pair once. While Gambhir stuck to the textbook, Sehwag was always a swashbuckler who hit rules of the game over the boundary. Though Sehwag has made himself unavailable for a political innings, the nation is waiting for Gambhir's debut
BJP had offered Sehwag a ticket in the Lok Sabha polls from West Delhi. But he refused on personal grounds, said party leaders. However, Gambhir is seriously pondering his chances. He is one of the many being considered for the New Delhi constituency.
Though Gambhir attended several party meetings, he denied contesting all the while. He hails from Rajendra Nagar in New Delhi. If he agrees to contest, sitting MP Meenakshi Lekhi might be asked to pick another seat.
Gambhir actively campaigned for Arun Jaitley from Amritsar in 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent a congratulatory letter lauding his contribution as a cricketer when he retired. The former cricketer also frequently criticises Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
There will be more clarity on his prospects once BJP declares its candidates in the coming days.
The BJP is likely to release its first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday, when its central election committee is scheduled to meet.
The list will have the names of most of the candidates for the first phase of polling, which will be held on April 11 in 91 seats.
The election for 543 parliamentary seats will be held in seven phases till May 19 and the counting of votes will be taken up on May 23.
In an embarrassment to the Congress, Tom Vadakkan, once seen as a key aide of Sonia Gandhi, joined the BJP on Thursday.
