Out of the seven candidates the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded in Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections, the two new celebrity faces — Gautam Gambhir and Hans Raj Hans — do not have college degrees.
The Congress and the AAP have one candidate each without a college degree.
The May 12 Lok Sabha polls in the national capital will involve a contest between Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party which won all the seven seats in 2014. Five of them are re-contesting this year.
Former cricketer Gambhir, in his nomination affidavit, has said that his “degree (was) not completed”.
The 37-year-old is contesting in East Delhi against the AAP’s Atishi, 37, who holds a Master of Science (2006) degree from Oxford University. The Congress has named 50-year-old Arvinder Singh Lovely, a B.A. Political Science graduate from Delhi University.
Hans Raj Hans, a matric pass (1978), is contesting from the North West Delhi seat. He will face the AAP’s Class 8 pass 70-year-old Gugan Singh. The Congress has named 53-year-old M.Sc. holder Rajesh Lilothia from the seat.
For the West Delhi seat, the Congress has named 65-year-old Mahabal Mishra, with a pre-university certificate (Intermediate course) from Bihar. Mishra will face 41-year-old Parvesh Sahib Singh, a MBA holder, and the AAP’s 47-year-old Balbir Singh Jakhar, with a L.L.B degree.
In the remaining four seats, the fight is between degree holders.
In the Chandini Chowk parliamentary seat, BJP’s 64-year-old sitting MP Harsh Vardhan — a medical graduate from Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur, and a Master of Surgery in Otorhinolaryngology (1983) — is contesting against the AAP’s 52-year-old Pankaj Gupta, a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics (1987) from Allahabad.
The Congress has fielded 74-year-old J.P. Agarwal, holding a degree in Bachelor of Arts (1960) from Delhi University’s Hansraj College.
North East Delhi will see a contest between three master degree holders. AAP’s 38-year-old Dilip Pandey, holding a Master of Computer Application degree (2005) from Bhopal, is facing three-time Delhi Chief Minister and Congress leader Sheila Dikshit. The 81-year-old completed her post graduation in history from Delhi University in 1959.
BJP’s sitting MP and candidate from North East Delhi 48-year-old Manoj Tiwari is a Master of Physical Education (1994).
In the New Delhi seat, BJP’s 51-year-old sitting MP Meenakshi Lekhi, with B.Sc. and L.L.B degrees, is facing Congress leader Ajay Maken, holding a Masters in Public Administration. The AAP has named B.Sc. graduate 43-year-old Brijesh Goyal.
The South Delhi seat will see a contest between sitting BJP MP and LLB degree holder Ramesh Bidhuri (57) and AAP’s 30-year-old Chartered Accountant Raghav Chadha. The Congress’ celebrity candidate boxer Vijender holds a B.A degree from Rohtak.
