Even though the party had announced his name from Amritsar, party insiders claim Sidhu has expressed his interest in contesting from the Capital. “He appears in so many chat shows in the Capital and also has other business interests in the city, so he felt it would be better to remain in Delhi,” a senior leader said.

Sidhu’s presence at the Republic Day function organised in Delhi by former MP Vijay Goel is being seen as a precursor to his entry into Delhi politics.

Toeing the party line, Sidhu, however, denied staking any claim in Delhi. “I can’t say anything, you will have to speak to the party high command on this,” he told Newsline.

Sidhu’s name is being linked with the West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. With a pre-dominantly Punjabi and Sikh population, several others too are interested in this constituency. Janakpuri MLA and senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi is one of the front runners. Others in the race include R P Singh, who was election coordinator for the Punjab and J&K polls. The late Sahib Singh Verma’s son, Parvesh Verma, is also pushing for this constituency.

The list of aspiring candidates for the New Delhi constituency is long and includes Mayor Arti Mehra, advocate Pinki Anand and Vijay Malhotra. BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s name was also doing the rounds, and close associates said he is enthused by the prospects.

Vijay Goel, who is eager to shift out of the Chandni Chowk constituency, has also forwarded his name from New Delhi. In South Delhi, the front runner is two-time MLA from Tughlaqabad Ramesh Biduri.

The BJP’s election committee has decided that the North West constituency, a reserved seat, will be given to a woman candidate. Former East Delhi MLA Meera Kanwaria seems to be ahead of other women candidates in the race for this seat.