Speculation mounts over BJP’s CM pick after historic Delhi win in 27 Years

The buzz over BJP's chief ministerial pick intensified after the party made a grand return to power in Delhi after a gap of more than 26 years, winning 48 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

Pravesh Verma's political currency skyrocketed with his stupendous victory over AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi by 4,089 votes, positioning him as a potential claimant to the top post in the upcoming BJP government.

The BJP winners also included several experienced senior leaders who are also in the race for the chief minister's post, party leaders said.

"These include Ashish Sood and former state general secretary (organization) Pawan Sharma," a top BJP functionary in Delhi said.

Sood, who won from Janakpuri by 18,766 votes, is a senior leader with some hands-on experience in administrative matters gained during BJP's rule in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

He is also BJP's in-charge for Goa, and co-in-charge for the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit.

Sharma, who won from Uttam Nagar by 29,740 votes, is also a frontrunner for the chief minister's post, BJP leaders said.

He is currently the BJP's co-in-charge for Assam.

Other serious contenders to the top post include former Delhi BJP presidents Vijender Gupta and Satish Upadhyay.

Gupta, the leader of opposition in the previous Delhi Assembly, scored a hat-trick of wins from Rohini, winning by 37,816 votes.

Upadhyay, the former vice-chairman of New Delhi Municipal Council, is believed to share close ties with the RSS leadership, BJP leaders said.

Co-in-charge for BJP's Madhya Pradesh unit, Upadhyay defeated AAP stalwart and former minister Somnath Bharti from Malviya Nagar by a slender margin of 2,131 votes.

The BJP leaders also didn't rule out the possibility of the party's national leadership placing its bet on a woman candidate for Delhi chief minster's post.

In that case, Rekha Gupta and Shikha Rai are two experienced leaders who may be considered, they said. While Rai defeated AAP heavyweight Saurabh Bharadwaj from Greater Kailash by 3,188 votes, Gupta won from Shalimar Bagh by more than 29,000 votes.

In case the national leadership opts for someone from outside its legislative party members, a few sitting MPs could also be considered, such as East Delhi MP and Union minister Harsh Malhotra and North-East Delhi MP and prominent Purvanchali face Manoj Tiwari, said a section of Delhi BJP leaders.

Meanwhile, a senior BJP leader cautioned that going by past experiences in Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the party won assembly polls recently, it leaves little room for speculation on such matters.

"You never know... The national leadership can come out with an altogether fresh face who fits the bill and is capable of discharging the duties as the chief minister of Delhi amid high expectations of the people," he said.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the decision to pick the chief minister will be taken by the party's central leadership, adding that all the newly-elected MLAs are capable of discharging the duties assigned to them by the party.

(PTI)