New Delhi, Jan 4 (IANS): The high-stakes poll battle for Delhi is heating up with political parties sharpening their attack on each other and also hurling jibes and counter jibes.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday marked its entry into the poll fray by announcing its first list for upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

Parvesh Verma, Ramesh Bidhuri, Manjinder Singh Sirsa are among the political heavyweights in the first list of BJP, comprising 29 candidates.

Parvesh Verma has been fielded from New Delhi constituency, where he will lock horns with AAP national supremo Arvind Kejriwal, bringing an end to speculation on which BJP bigwig will challenge the former CM.

BJP has fielded former MP Ramesh Bidhuri to take on Delhi chief minister Atishi in Kalkaji constituency. This sets up a tri-cornered contest in the high-profile constituency with Congress leader Alka Lamba contesting from the same seat.

Kailash Gehlot, who recently crossed over from AAP to BJP has been fielded from Brijwasan.

In the BJP’s first list of 29 candidates, two of them are women candidates.

The disclosure of BJP’s nominees comes at last, as the AAP has already announced names of all candidates while Congress has also released many names.

The elections in national capital are slated in February this year and political experts believe that poll dates will also be announced soon.

The ruling AAP is betting on its scores of poll promises including Sanjeevni, Mahila Samman Yojana and more while BJP has been accusing it pocketing the public money and also looting and defrauding the Delhiites with its ‘fraudulent’ policies. Congress has also upped the ante by calling out failures of AAP government and blaming it for turning the city into ‘gas chamber’.

The latest round of BJP and AAP face-off saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocking the city dispensation as ‘Aap-da' and also cautioning people against its ‘misleading’ promises while AAP sought to turn the tables by terming it ‘aashirvaad’.