Yogender Chandolia was made the general secretary of BJP's Delhi unit in 2023. (File)
The BJP has fielded Yogender Chandolia, former mayor of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), from the North West Delhi constituency for the Lok Sabha polls. He's one of the six new BJP faces for Delhi. He replaces Punjabi Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans, who won the seat in 2019.
Here are 5 facts about Yogender Chandolia:
- Yogender Chandolia studied at Delhi University's Shivaji College and has been active in politics since his student days. He is one of the known Dalit faces of the BJP in the national capital and has been associated with the party since the 1990s
- Mr Chandolia was made the general secretary of BJP's Delhi unit in 2023 as part of an organisational rejig. Previously, he was a Municipal Councilor from the Dev Nagar area, which falls in the Karol Bagh zone.
- He has been a mayor of the erstwhile NDMC and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
- Mr Chandolia contested the Delhi Assembly elections in 2015 and 2020 from Karol Bagh but lost to Aam Aadmi Party's Vishesh Ravi both times. This is going to be Mr Chandolia's debut in Lok Sabha elections.
- He has promised to raise the demand for a Metro link between Bawana and Narela if he gets elected to the Lower House of Parliament. The BJP leader has also promised to work on establishing a sports university in the national capital.