After its historic win in the Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP continued a brainstorming over the selection of the next chief minister for the fourth consecutive day.
BJP National President JP Nadda is regularly holding key meetings with newly-elected party MLAs.
The saffron party registered a landslide victory in the assembly elections, the results of which were declared on February 8, winning a two-thirds majority bagging 48 seats in the 70-member assembly. However, the party is yet to announce the chief ministerial face for the national capital.
Amid suspense over the next chief minister, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal emphasised on Wednesday that the BJP is a workers-based party and in the case of Delhi, the leadership would nominate a dedicated worker to take Delhi to the status of a world-class city.
“BJP is a workers-based party. Whenever such a situation arises the party’s national leadership takes the decision. In the case of Delhi, it is the same. BJP aims to make Delhi a world-class city. The national leadership of the party will nominate one dedicated BJP worker who will lead Delhi,” Khandelwal told a news agency.
According to sources, the final decision by the BJP regarding the next chief minister of Delhi will be taken only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from the United States.
The sources said the swearing-in ceremony of the new chief minister is likely to be held after February 13, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from his foreign tour.
Ten newly-elected BJP MLAs met Nadda on Tuesday.
The BJP MLAs, including Anil Sharma, Shikha Roy, Satish Upadhyay, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Vijender Gupta, Ajay Mahawar, Rekha Gupta, Kapil Mishra, Kulwant Rana, and Dr. Anil Goyal paid a courtesy call to the BJP president in Parliament.
After the victory in the assembly elections, the party’s top brass is constantly interacting with the winning candidates.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Harsh Malhotra said the decision on the next chief minister would be taken by the BJP’s legislative party and the parliamentary board, emphasising that the chosen leader will be from within the party’s ranks. “Delhi’s chief minister will be decided by the legislative party meeting and parliamentary board decision, he can be anyone, he will be a BJP worker,” he told a news agency.
Top party leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and state unit president Virendra Sachdeva, have started holding key meetings to discuss the selection of the next chief minister of Delhi.
Speculation is rife that Parvesh Verma, who earned the tag of ‘giant killer’ after defeating AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi constituency, is also being seen as a strong contender for the top post.
There are also speculations about the possibility that the next chief minister could be a woman. According to the sources, a woman MLA could also be under consideration for the post. Among the BJP’s 48 MLAs are four women – Rekha Gupta, Neelam Pahalwan, Poonam Sharma, and Shikha Roy.
BJP leader Harish Khurana, who won from the Moti Nagar constituency, said the selection of chief minister is the responsibility of the top leadership and PM Modi as his priority remains serving the people of his constituency and addressing its issues. “The selection of the Chief Minister is the responsibility of the top leadership and the Prime Minister, so let them handle it,” he told a news agency.
A crucial meeting was held here at the residence of the Union home minister on Sunday to discuss the government formation in Delhi. Nadda also attended the meeting held a day after the party’s historic win in the Delhi assembly polls.
The high-level meeting also discussed the next chief minister of Delhi, the sources said.
On Saturday, speaking about the chief ministerial candidate, BJP leader Parvesh Verma said the party’s decision on the CM face would be acceptable to everyone. “In our party, the legislative party decides (CM’s face) and then the party leadership approves it. So, the party’s decision will be acceptable to everyone,” he added.