BJP's 2 celebrity faces in Delhi hold no college degrees

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. IANS