NEW DELHI: Delhi sends just seven deputies to India's 543-strong Lok Sabha, but the contest on Thursday will be watched with unusual interest for the dramatis personae involved.

They include academic and peace activist Rajmohan Gandhi who is spearheading the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) campaign in the national capital together with six first-time candidates.

Journalist Ashish Khetan who did a clutch of exposes on the Gujarat massacre of 2002 is one of them.

His main contest is with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which got the highest tally in the recent assembly polls though it fell short of a majority.

The high-voltage contest also assumes greater significance as it may set the stage for the possible assembly polls in the city in the next few months.

Though a total of 150 candidates are in the fray, including 58 Independents, the contest in all constituencies is likely to be three-way among the BJP, AAP and Congress.

For AAP, the election assumes greater significance as it will reflect people's support to it after the first time entrant created history in the December 4 assembly polls wresting 28 of the 70 seats and forming the government.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had faced severe criticism for quitting after remaining in power for just 49 days. Mr Kejriwal says he was being propped up by the Congress and had to go when they fell out over AAP's anti-corruption moves.

The BJP's campaign is centred around Narendra Modi and the election will determine whether the ‘Modi wave’ had any impact or not. If the party performs well, then it may press for early assembly polls.

Your vote for our seven candidates in Delhi is a vote for me. Vote for them and help me build a strong and prosperous India,” prime ministerial candidate Mr Modi appealed to the people through advertisements in the dailies on Wednesday.

Almost all top party leaders including Mr Modi, Mr Advani, Ms Sushma Swaraj, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Arun Jaitley campaigned in the city. BJP drew a blank in the 2009 polls, while Congress had won all the seven seats.

After its massive defeat in the assembly polls in December last year, Congress through its campaign tried hard to win back support of the people through rallies and house-to-house contact programme.

The party was routed in the assembly polls as it could win only eight seats. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi had addressed separate rallies.

AAP chief Kejriwal held road shows and public meetings across the city but its cash-strapped candidates mainly focused on connecting with people through door-to-door visits.