The national capital is expected to witness fiery rallies by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a star campaigner for the BJP, and his rivals from the Congress top leadership in the run-up to the assembly elections next week.
While Yogi Adityanath will hold rallies between Saturday and Tuesday at venues ranging from Shaheen Bagh to Rohini, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will address a public gathering in Shastri Park on Wednesday.
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's campaign will begin on Saturday, covering the constituencies of Karawal Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Narela and Rohini from 12 noon to 5:30 pm. But the most watched rally is expected to be held in the Okhla assembly constituency, of which Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Nagar are a part, on Sunday.
Yogi Adityanath has frequently criticised the ongoing protest by women and children against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Shaheen Bagh, even claiming that they have been forced to sit in the cold by their male family members. "It is a big crime that the men are sleeping under the quilt while women have been pushed forward... it is shameful," he said at a rally in Kanpur last week.
Uttar Pradesh witnessed the highest number of protester deaths in the initial weeks of the anti-CAA agitation, with at least 21 getting killed across the state in police crackdowns. His Okhla rally is seen as a move to take the fight to Shaheen Bagh, which has emerged as the face of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests over the last one month.
Sonia Gandhi has picked the penultimate day of campaigning - when canvassing activities are expected to be at their peak - to hold her rally at Shastri Park in Northeast Delhi. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on the other hand, are scheduled to campaign in the national capital through Monday and Tuesday.
According to news agency ANI, the other high-profile candidates on the Congress list are Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.
Union Minister Amit Shah has portrayed the Delhi elections as "a battle between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who eliminated Pakistani terrorists through air and surgical strikes, and those supporting the Shaheen Bagh protests". By the latter, he was referring to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress.
Delhi will go to the polls on February 8, and the votes will be counted three days later. The BJP and Congress had faced a massive defeat at the hands of Arvind Kejriwal's party in the previous election.
(With inputs from ANI)
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