BJP's Arvinder Singh Lovely To Fight From Delhi's Gandhi Nagar Seat: 5 Facts

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced former Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely as its candidate for the Gandhi Nagar constituency in the upcoming assembly elections. The BJP dropped its sitting MLA, Anil Kumar Bajpai, from the seat.

Here are some facts about Arvinder Singh Lovely:

1. Arvinder Singh Lovely was born on December 11, 1968. He graduated in Political Science from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University. Active in student politics from an early age, he served as General Secretary of the Delhi Youth Congress in 1990 and held the position of General Secretary in the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) from 1992 to 1996.
2. In 1998, he became an MLA at age 30, representing the Gandhi Nagar constituency. He defeated BJP's Swinderjit Singh Bajwa by a margin of over 6,000 votes. He went on to represent the seat for four terms until 2015, playing a significant role in Sheila Dikshit's Congress government, where he held critical portfolios, including urban development, revenue, education and transport.
3. In April 2017, Arvinder Singh Lovely quit the Congress and joined the BJP. He declared the Congress party “dead” in the national capital. Former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit accused him of betraying the party. He returned to the Congress in February 2018 after a brief stint with the BJP. Arvinder Singh Lovely met Rahul Gandhi and regretted leaving the party, saying he was an "ideological misfit in the BJP." He clarified that his departure from Congress was driven by “pain” after being replaced as Delhi unit chief by Ajay Maken.
4. Arvinder Singh Lovely contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi, facing off against BJP's Gautam Gambhir and AAP's Atishi. He lost to the cricketer-turned-politician by a margin of over 3.9 lakh votes.
5. Days before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Arvinder Singh Lovely rejoined the BJP after stepping down from his DPCC post. In his resignation letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, he criticised the Congress for aligning with the Aam Aadmi Party despite corruption allegations against AAP ministers.