Facing the prospect of an assembly election soon, senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party have agreed on a shortlist of five possible chief ministerial candidates to field in the campaign, according to party officials who asked to remain unidentified.
Delhi has been under the lieutentant governor's charge after the Aam Aadmi Party's Arjun Kejriwal resigned in February. Though the lieutentant governor, Najeeb Jung, has not dissolved the assembly and is yet to officially call for a fresh election, polls now appear inevitable.
Although there was speculation that former police officer Kiran Bedi and the BJP’s national spokesperson and MP from the New Delhi constituency, Meenakshi Lekhi, could be in the running, party officials said they had not made it to the shortlist.
Here are the five who have.
Jagdish Mukhi
The five-time MLA from Janakpuri is on top of the list. The newly appointed BJP president, Amit Shah, is said to favour Jagdish Mukhi being portrayed as the next CM candidate as he has a clean image and is an experienced campaigner, officials said.
The veteran BJP leader has served as the state's minister of finance, planning and education in the ministry under former CM Madan Lal Khurana. He has also been the leader of the opposition in the assembly.
"It is for the senior leadership of the party to decide," said Mukhi cautiously. "I have been serving in the BJP since 1975 and will continue to do so in whatever role the party wishes me to fulfill."
Rambir Singh Bidhuri
Rambir Singh Bidhuri has been making the most noise against calling a fresh election. The MLA from Badapur constituency had claimed last month that seven Aam Aadmi Party MLAs had approached him asking to be allowed to join the BJP. This would have given the BJP the majority it needs to form the government.
Bidhuri suggested to senior leaders that the BJP should try to persuade legislators from other parties to cross the floor, officials said, in order to save the expenses of another election. The MP form South Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri, has been pushing for Rambir as the party’s next CM candidate, they said.
Sahab Singh Chauhan
The MLA from the Ghonda constituency in East Delhi has turned out to be a surprise contender. He was also in favour of the party accepting the support of the seven AAP MLAs who wished to cross over to the BJP.
Chauhan is popular with the residents of East Delhi, BJP officials said. "Whenever there is an inauguration ceremony, people want Chauhan sahib to do the honours," said a party worker in Ghonda. "He is honest, hard-working and humble, and treats those who come to him for help as his equals."
Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma
Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, the son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma, has rapidly risen up the party ranks. He won two important elections in six months.
Some party workers rebelled over a decision by senior leaders to field Verma from the Mehrauli constituency in the state election in December. But after he won comprehensively, the party allowed him to stand as the candidate from the West Delhi parliamentary constituency during the general election. Again, he won by a huge margin, defeating two-time Congress MP Mahabal Mishra.
Some senior leaders are rooting for Verma because they believe he will attract youngsters, who constitute the majority of the voters in the capital.
Satish Upadhyay
Upadhyay has the support of health minister Harsh Vardhan, who was instrumental in getting him appointed as the BJP Delhi president, perhaps as a step to making him a CM candidate, said officials.
"He was a standing committee chairman in the south municipal corporation," said an official in the Delhi state BJP unit. "Forget contesting an assembly election, the first time he contested on a BJP ticket was in 2012, in the corporation election. Yet he was made president."
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Delhi has been under the lieutentant governor's charge after the Aam Aadmi Party's Arjun Kejriwal resigned in February. Though the lieutentant governor, Najeeb Jung, has not dissolved the assembly and is yet to officially call for a fresh election, polls now appear inevitable.
Although there was speculation that former police officer Kiran Bedi and the BJP’s national spokesperson and MP from the New Delhi constituency, Meenakshi Lekhi, could be in the running, party officials said they had not made it to the shortlist.
Here are the five who have.
Jagdish Mukhi
The five-time MLA from Janakpuri is on top of the list. The newly appointed BJP president, Amit Shah, is said to favour Jagdish Mukhi being portrayed as the next CM candidate as he has a clean image and is an experienced campaigner, officials said.
The veteran BJP leader has served as the state's minister of finance, planning and education in the ministry under former CM Madan Lal Khurana. He has also been the leader of the opposition in the assembly.
"It is for the senior leadership of the party to decide," said Mukhi cautiously. "I have been serving in the BJP since 1975 and will continue to do so in whatever role the party wishes me to fulfill."
Rambir Singh Bidhuri
Rambir Singh Bidhuri has been making the most noise against calling a fresh election. The MLA from Badapur constituency had claimed last month that seven Aam Aadmi Party MLAs had approached him asking to be allowed to join the BJP. This would have given the BJP the majority it needs to form the government.
Bidhuri suggested to senior leaders that the BJP should try to persuade legislators from other parties to cross the floor, officials said, in order to save the expenses of another election. The MP form South Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri, has been pushing for Rambir as the party’s next CM candidate, they said.
Sahab Singh Chauhan
The MLA from the Ghonda constituency in East Delhi has turned out to be a surprise contender. He was also in favour of the party accepting the support of the seven AAP MLAs who wished to cross over to the BJP.
Chauhan is popular with the residents of East Delhi, BJP officials said. "Whenever there is an inauguration ceremony, people want Chauhan sahib to do the honours," said a party worker in Ghonda. "He is honest, hard-working and humble, and treats those who come to him for help as his equals."
Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma
Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, the son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma, has rapidly risen up the party ranks. He won two important elections in six months.
Some party workers rebelled over a decision by senior leaders to field Verma from the Mehrauli constituency in the state election in December. But after he won comprehensively, the party allowed him to stand as the candidate from the West Delhi parliamentary constituency during the general election. Again, he won by a huge margin, defeating two-time Congress MP Mahabal Mishra.
Some senior leaders are rooting for Verma because they believe he will attract youngsters, who constitute the majority of the voters in the capital.
Satish Upadhyay
Upadhyay has the support of health minister Harsh Vardhan, who was instrumental in getting him appointed as the BJP Delhi president, perhaps as a step to making him a CM candidate, said officials.
"He was a standing committee chairman in the south municipal corporation," said an official in the Delhi state BJP unit. "Forget contesting an assembly election, the first time he contested on a BJP ticket was in 2012, in the corporation election. Yet he was made president."