JP Nadda meets Amit Shah as BJP gets down to picking new Delhi CM

JP Nadda meets Amit Shah as BJP gets down to picking new Delhi CM

BJP President JP Nadda held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday as the party moved forward with its efforts to choose the new Delhi Chief Minister, following its victory in the assembly elections that ended a 26-year-long period out of power.

Senior leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had gathered at the BJP headquarters for discussions on Saturday after Modi delivered a victory speech to the celebratory party workers.

BJP's strong performance across all regions and communities in the polls has left the party with a wide pool of potential chief ministerial candidates.

With larger political messaging often guiding the party's choices in choosing its chief ministers in different states, political watchers believe that Delhi would be no exception.

While prominent figures like Parvesh Verma, a Jat community leader who defeated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, and experienced organizational leaders such as Satish Upadhyay, Vijender Gupta, Ashish Sood, and Pawan Sharma are being discussed, the BJP has a track record of promoting leaders with relatively low public profiles.

A BJP leader said the party could also consider an MLA with 'Purvanchal' background, a Sikh, or a woman, depending on the political calculations guiding its top brass.

Past experience, including in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in 2023, and Odisha last year, leave little room for speculation on such matters, he added.

The BJP picked Mohan Yadav in Madhya Pradesh, Bhajanlal Sharma in Rajasthan and Mohan Charan Majhi in Odisha, taking most political observers by surprise.

"You never know… The national leadership can come up with an altogether fresh face who fits the bill and is capable of discharging the duties as Delhi chief minister amid high expectations of the people," the BJP leader said.

The BJP's Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva said that the central leadership would decide on the chief minister, adding that all the newly-elected MLAs were fully capable of performing their assigned duties.