NOIDA: BJP national president JP Nadda on Tuesday appointed an observer to oversee the selection of its legislature party leader in the Delhi Assembly. Delhi BJP leaders said Saroj Pandey, the observer, would soon hold a meeting with newly-elected party legislators to identify the consensus candidate. A party communique announcing the appointment of Pandey was issued by BJP general secretary Arun Singh on Tuesday.
Party functionaries said, Rohini MLA Vijender Gupta, Mohan Singh Bisht from Karawal Nagar and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, winner from Badarpur, are front runners for the post. Bisht has been elected to the House five times. The prominent Garhwali face in Delhi politics started his political journey with the Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1976. He had lost to AAP’s Kapil Mishra in 2015.
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Gupta, a former Delhi BJP president, has served as leader of opposition in previous assembly. Bidhuri is also an experienced leader with four wins and was selected as the best MLA in 2003-04. Bidhuri won the Badarpur seat defeating AAP’s Ram Singh Netaji. He had lost to AAP’s ND Sharma in 2015.
“The appointment of the observer indicates that there is lack of consensus. Gupta is adamant on continuing and amongst the six MLAs from Trans Yamuna area, Bisht is the senior-most,” said an office-bearer.
The BJP won 8 seats in the Delhi elections where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept back to power with 62 seats. In 2015, the BJP had managed just three seats.