MCD polls: Nitish to campaign for JD(U) on Apr 9

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will address two rallies in Delhi on April 9 as part of the campaign by the JD(U) for the high-stakes MCD polls for which the party today announced its second list of candidates.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters at 7, Jantar Mantar here, Janata Dal (United) national general secretary and Delhi unit in-charge Sanjay Jha, also said, "Bihar model of prohibition and good governance will add weight to the campaign."
Independent ward councillor Jeevan Lal from Harkesh Nagar seat in south Delhi also joined the Kumar-led party in the presence of Jha and other senior party leaders.

"People from the Purvanchal region are feeling shortchanged by all three parties -- the ruling BJP, which has made the MCD a den of corruption, or the Congress, and even by the AAP, which came to power riding on their support," Jha alleged.
People's loyalty have now shifted to Nitish Kumar because of his "good governance model", which should be a benchmark not just for Delhi but the entire country, he said.
"Nitishji will address two big rallies on April 9 for our campaign," he said.

He said one rally would be in north Delhi while the other in south Delhi. "We are still working our on the venues."

The party today also released the second list of 12 candidates.
"Six of these are women candidates. Majority of these are from the Purvanchal region. We will soon release our third list of candidates," Jha added.
The Nitish Kumar-led party said it has targeted to field candidates on about 150 of the 276 seats and "prohibition impact in Bihar would give us a major shot in the arm in the MCD polls too".
Jeevan Lal claimed he joined the party "influenced by the prohibition model of the Bihar government". His name is in the second list and he will fight the polls from his old seat.

The six women candidates in the second list have been fielded from Sainik Enclave, Maujpur, Chandani Chauk, Lajpat Nagar, Ghonda and Tughlaqabad Extension.
"The 153 sitting councillors of BJP will not be fielded but what about their report cards of last five years. The party has decided to go with fresh faces because its councillors have failed and it does not want to risk its fortunes," Jha said.
The JD(U) also seeks to reach out to the Sikh community based on the goodwill earned for organising 'Prakash Parv' -- Guru Gobind Singh's 350th anniversary in Patna in January.
Purvanchalis, or people hailing from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh settled in Delhi, are considered a major vote bank by all parties. A sizeable chunk of this community is settled in jhuggi-jhopri and unauthorised colonies.