From Pravesh Burma, Smriti Irani, Manoj Tiwari to Bansuri Swaraj in competition
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has returned to power after 27 years after winning 48 out of 70 seats in the Delhi assembly elections. Even after 4 days of the announcement of election results, New Delhi has not got a new Chief Minister.
Even though the BJP has started preparations to form the new government, it has not yet announced the name of the Chief Minister. Hindustan Times quoted a BJP leader as saying that the swearing-in ceremony will be decided only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from his US visit. Modi is scheduled to return home after his visit on February 15.
Although speculations are going on about who BJP will make as Chief Minister, it does not seem to have been decided yet. Some BJP leaders are saying that the new Chief Minister should be selected from among the elected BJP MLAs. There is speculation that the new chief minister could be a woman, a Singh or a 'Purvanchali'. Ekthari is speculating about the names of Pravesh Burma to Ramesh Bidhuri, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari to Kapil Mishra to defeat former Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) founder Arvind Kejriwal.
Rekha Gupta, deputy head of BJP's women's department, Shikha Roy who defeated AAP's Saurabh Bhardwaj in the election to former minister Smriti Irani and Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri Swaraj are being discussed as chief minister. Most of the Indian media have pointed out that the BJP is more likely to choose a Chief Minister in terms of balancing the equation of women or caste.
The Indian Express has mentioned that whoever is recommended by the BJP leadership will be the Chief Minister. Hindustan Times said that the discussion about the chief minister is intensifying within the party. This time, it is mentioned in the news of Hindustan Times that there is a possibility that the BJP may choose a woman candidate from among its newly elected MLAs as Chief Minister.
Quoting a senior BJP leader in the news, it is written that there is a possibility that one of the Sikh leaders or women will be selected. In the previous elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha, the tendency of the BJP leadership to keep its strategy secret before making big announcements has continued even after this year's Delhi assembly elections.
