One is the matronly and media savvy, Sushma Swaraj. The other is the relatively more urbane Sheila Dixit. Swaraj's strongest appeal is her aunty-next-door image. Dixit's trump cards are her proximity to the Gandhi family and her clean record, which is a rarity in the Delhi Congress.

Dressed in cotton saris with `sindoor' and a bright red `bindi', Swaraj strikes a chord of familiarity among women voters. And it is this sense of identification with the traditional Indian woman that has worked wonders.

On the other, elegant and dignified Dixit with her starched saris and perfectly coiffured hair gives the appearance of being aloof and distant --the elite who dropped into murky politics of Delhi by mistake.

A law graduate from Punjab University, Swaraj's oratorical skills and ready wit -- be it inEnglish or chaste Hindi -- makes her speeches as well as at her press conferences memorable.

Swaraj, of course, had the advantage of being the BJP spokesperson for five years before graduating to the high-profile Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Dixit did not have the opportunty.

Dixit may lack Swaraj's aggressiveness or her eloquence in Hindi (she is known to embarrassingly fumble on her Hindi numerals), but none would see her lost for words on a Prannoy Roy show. That is where she feels more at home than in her East Delhi constituency.

However, her image did not sit well with the voters in the middle-brow Delhi. They could hardly relate to her. In comparison, Swaraj romped home with a comfortable margin in the last two parliamentary elections from her south Delhi constituency.

With her finger on the pulse of the common man, Swaraj is quick on the uptake churning out populist statements by the dozen. Whether it is banning phone sex as Union telecom minister or reining in onion prices as the newChief Minister, she always manages turn the tide in favour.

Dixit with a packed appointment diary is not known to hit headlines with such frequency. Nor has she the checkered reputation of tackling tough bureaucrats like the former Prasar Bharati CEO S.S. Gill through prolonged parliamentary intrigue.

From adulterated oil to scarce onions, Dixit had burning issues that the BJP Government handed to her on a platter. Issues that could be taken out to the streets of the Capital, into every home of Delhi garner mass support. Yet, she remained limited to her press conference. May be Delhi will see her on the streets as the Assembly election draw nearer.