The Delhi Congress has shortlisted former cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha and singer Sapna Chaudhary as its ‘star campaigners’, senior party leaders said on Sunday. They said the names discussed during a meeting presided by the Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit last week.

The Congress is yet to announce its candidates for the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi.

“But the main star campaigner will be Priyanka Gandhiji,” said Haroon Yusuf, working president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee. “The Delhi unit workers want Priyanka Gandhi to do at least two rallies or road shows ahead of the polls. Senior leaders have expressed their desire too, but we are yet to get an assurance from her.”

Travel expenses of star campaigners are not to be accounted for in the election expense accounts of candidates.

Delhi is scheduled to go for polls on May 12. Election in Uttar Pradesh, where Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is the party in-charge for the eastern constituencies of the state, is scheduled to be held in seven phases – the first being April 11.

Another party leader said the celebrity campaigners have been chosen to appeal to different sections of the voters.

“Navjot Singh Sidhu can draw the Sikh voters and Shatrughan Sinha will appeal to the Poorvanchalis [residents of eastern UP and Bihar]. Sapna [Chaudhary] who is from Haryana, is popular among the Jats which have a significant population in outer Delhi. We will approach them at the earliest,” a Congress functionary said.

While some news reports published on Saturday suggested that Sapna Chaudhary had joined the Congress, the 28-year-old singer and dancer later denied the reports. She also told the media that she will not be campaigning for any political party for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“As far as I know, she is a bit stressed with personal issues at the moment,” said Jitender Kochar, Delhi Congress spokesperson. “Things will get sorted out with time and we still consider her a potential star campaigner for Delhi.”

Sidhu is a former member of the BJP who had joined the Congress in January 2017. Shatrughan Sinha, on the other hand, is BJP MP from Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar. Sinha, however, has been a critic of the party and denied a ticket this time.

Earlier this month, Sinha had said that he would take a major decision in the days to come, which had sparked the buzz that he may join the Congress. The buzz further strengthened when the NDA coalition in Bihar fielded Lok Sabha election candidates in 39 out of 40 candidates in the state and Ravi Shankar Prasad was named the candidate from Sinha’s constituency.

First Published: Mar 25, 2019 07:33 IST