(FE)
BJP leader and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir will be contesting the Lok Sabha election from the East Delhi seat. Bharatiya Janata Party made the announcement on Monday. BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi has been fielded from the New Delhi constituency. Gautam Gambhir replaced Mahesh Giri as BJP’s candidate and will be up against Atishi of the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress’ Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Gautam Gambhir had joined the Bhartiya Janta Party in the presence of senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah and Ravi Shankar Prasad in March. The left-handed batsman from Delhi had played crucial knocks for India in the finals of the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. Gautam Gambhir was awarded the Padma Shree Award for his contribution to Indian cricket.
Besides his batting prowess, Gambhir is also known for statements on national interest and humanitarian issues. Gambhir, who has openly slammed the Aam Aadmi Party rule in Delhi, had expressed his anger over the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which over 40 CRPF jawans were killed when a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into their convoy.
