New Delhi: The party is preparing for provincial elections in the capital in February next year but is yet to announce who will be its chief minister.
The Delhi BJP is yet to decide who, if anyone, will be the chief minister in the state assembly elections due in February 2025.
Party sources said a final decision on the issue would be taken by the leadership “soon.”They said the absence of a strong face to challenge Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and factions within the Delhi BJP are issues the leadership will consider while deciding whether to appoint a face for the post or contest the elections without announcing their name as the chief ministerial candidate.
Party insiders said internal differences are a major issue within the party. As has been evident in the past, the Delhi BJP has not been able to come to a consensus on a credible candidate to lead the election campaign, they said. This lack of consensus has led to uncertainty and indecision as there are competing factions within the party, each supporting different candidates.
In the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP nominated former IPS officer Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate. The BJP brought in an outsider, Bedi, to lead its campaign due to her positive social image and reputation for integrity. However, despite her performance, the BJP suffered a major defeat, winning only three out of 70 seats. Meanwhile, the AAP won a landslide victory, winning 67 seats. This was believed to be due to her lack of acceptance within the party and her lack of understanding of how the party and politics worked.
In the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP campaigned primarily on the achievements of the central government, with some factions suggesting that a BJP victory would see then-state president Manoj Tiwari appointed as state assembly chief. Despite this strategy, the AAP won a landslide victory, winning 62 of the 70 seats, while the BJP managed to win just eight. This result highlighted the challenge the BJP has faced in overcoming strong local support for Kejriwal.
However, party leaders claim that past problems such as lack of coordination between workers and leadership have already been resolved under Birendra Sachdeva, who was appointed state president in March last year.
Jitendra Mahajan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Rohtashnagar, said it will be up to the central leadership to decide whether he will contest the upcoming state assembly elections as the state’s chief ministerial candidate or wait and see what the chief minister has to say. He, however, assured that the Delhi BJP is election-ready. Mahajan stressed that the Delhi BJP is banking on grassroots activists who are enthusiastic to support the party and aims to remove the corrupt Ahmed Aami Party from power and ensure victory. He pointed to the recent Lok Sabha election results, in which the BJP won all seven seats against the Indian Bloc, as a positive sign for the party’s chances in the state assembly elections.
