NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has indicated that it would not name its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections in national capital. The vice president of the saffron outfit Shyam Jaju told The Morning Standard that PM Narendra Modi would be the face and the senior leadership would pick a leader for the coveted post after winning the elections.
Jaju, who is also the incharge of BJP’s local unit, said Modi is a most ‘trusted’ name hence the party would go to the people and remind them measures taken by the PM to end their sufferings. "We are confident of registering victory in Delhi this time as the Aam Aadmi Party has failed the people miserably. People have seen that the PM has delivered on promises, be it section 370 or ownership rights in unauthorised colonies. After the election results, the party’s central leadership will nominate the best suitable leader as Delhi CM," he said.
Further, the BJP leader exuded confidence that the Modi government’s welfare schemes of will work in BJP’s favour. Party leaders said that Jaju’s statement is likely to put all speculations over possible CM face to rest, though it is against the general practice that have been followed previously. The party had nominated senior party leaders-Professor Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Dr Harsh Vardhan and former IPS Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate for Delhi Assembly polls in 2008, 2013 and 2015.
Last month, union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who is co-incharge of Delhi BJP for Assembly polls, grabbed headlines when he suggested Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari’s name for the chief ministership. “We are going to fight the Assembly election under the leadership of Tiwari and we will ensure that he becomes the chief minister,” he had said. However, the minister retracted his statement later.
Tiwari along with former presidents of city unit Vijay Goel, Vijender Gupta and Dr Harsh Vardhan are considered to be front-runners for the post. However, a section of the party said that the central leadership might spring a surprise.