NEW DELHI: Continuing with the past practice, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to name its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections in the national capital. The possible announcement marks a departure from the assertion of BJP vice president Shyam Jaju, who last month said that the party would plunge into the poll battle with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the face and the senior leadership would take a call on its pick for the CM’s post once the polls are over and done with.
Senior Delhi BJP leaders said the central leadership might announce the chief ministerial candidate, preferably by this week.“The office-bearers of the local unit in Delhi and closed-group members, who have been meeting the top leadership in the run-up to the polls, have been given clear hints that a decision on the CM face may be taken soon. We expect our party president Amit Shahji to name our CM face (for Delhi polls) at the proposed meeting of booth-level workers at Ramlila Maidan on January 5,” said a core committee member of Delhi BJP.
Citing previous instances, several BJP leaders favoured the possible declaration of the CM face by the central leadership. However, a section in the party was of the view that the ‘move’ may trigger dissent.
“It is my personal opinion that any such decision may hamper the party’s prospects (in the polls). If one is picked as the CM face, others vying for the post might even sabotage the polls. I saw this from close quarters in 2013 and 2008,” said an office-bearer of Delhi BJP, associated with polls preparations.
The saffron outfit had nominated senior party leaders —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.
Another BJP functionary, who is part of the groups tailoring the campaign strategy for the elections scheduled in February, said taking a cue from recent defeat in Jharkhand, the party should ideally present a credible face to lead the battle after due consideration of caste combination and the party’s core vote bank.
“In absence of a face, electorates are often confused. Like the AAP, which has Arvind Kejriwal as its CM face, we should also be led by someone picked by consensus. We should go for a young and dynamic face, who will lead from the front,” he said.